Fast Times 2: Yokai Boogaloo
by theallaroundnerd
Summary: "Okay...so, it looks like I'm heading into season 2 for this bitch. Well if that's the case, I'm gonna make sure I get shit done! No more pussing out for this clone, no sir. Moka, I will show you how I feel, you may not feel the same buuut that doesn't mean I still can't hit on you. Oh...shit, that's your sister? Why is she chasing me with a mallet?"
1. Time Skip! Return to Monster High!

**Time Skip! Return to Monster High!**

**Six months later...**

Ben sat at his computer early one Saturday morning and opened up a few windows. One was his , he took his hobby for drawing and placed a couple drawings on Deviant Art, next thing he knew he was being asked for commissions. Now he has a Duel : 1) Spider-Man to make some cash for food while he fights crime; and to keep it legitimate, reason 2) Commissions for artwork by the Scarlet Spider. He found this to be quite an easy way to make about 50$ per standard commission while others who wanted to help Spider-Man you know, live, paid to keep their city safe. Was it wrong? Maybe...he had been accused of essentially charging people a new tax, but he had things to pay for. Wade's money has practically run dry and Ben has been using that, plus money from his PLUS working full time at The Daily Grind (a small mom and pop coffee shop in Midtown) to pay for Wade's rent and help Aunt May, as well as give him some spare cash. In the end he gets to keep maybe 200$ per paycheck. Which isn't bad, he just has to NOT spend it in case of an emergency. It's not completely terrible though, after some...bonding, Kaine was able to pitch in to help Aunt May, and, shockingly, Carol convinced Tony to help Ben as well. So as of right now, while not essentially loaded like the year before, Ben was pretty comfortable with his situation.

Once he saw that his was in fact, steadily rising, he decided to check his Twitter feed. Spider-Man, was in fact, trending...for negative reasons by the Daily Bugle...again. Ben read through the headline that JJJ had put up for his latest 'Crime Spree'. "Spider-Man Shocks Nobody, Helps Shocker Destroy Bank." he read, "HA!" he clapped his hand and almost had a laughing fit, "Jeez, at least the headlines are clever. BUT YOU AIN'T GETTING UNDER MY SKIN THAT EASILY JJ!" he pressed his face against the screen of his monitor, "Because I know that deep down inside...you NEED me to sell your papers! You're obsessed!" he laughed. "Okay...enough of that shit." he sighed. He opened up his Steam account and saw that Tsukune was online and immediately hit him up for a chat.

_"Ben! What's up? Tired? it's gotta be like 7 am right?"_ Tsukune asked.

"I'm feeling it dude, trust me." Ben rubbed his eyes and both chuckled, "So what's new?"

_"Well...I was wondering if I was gonna see you at school?"_ Tsukune asked.

"School? What do you mean?" Ben asked, "Do you mean Yokai?"

_"Yeah, I just got a letter from Moka the other day.__" _the name made Ben's heart sink a little bit, he left everything on the table the last time he saw Moka's inner self but...well, he of course received no answer from the vampire. For all he knew she didn't feel the same way and he tried to let her go but...well, he quickly learned he only had feelings for her. _"School is supposed to start Monday. So...are you coming?"_ Ben leaned back in his chair, _Should I go? I should go right? But I can't go, I have to help take care of Aunt May, Kaine isn't here enough to support her. Even if I did go, wouldn't that be awkward? I haven't seen her in so long, I feel like it would all just be a waste of time. I could just hang out with Tsukune the whole time but... "Hey! You still there?"_

"Yeah, sorry...I don't know man," _It's for the best. _"I don't think it's a good idea for me to go back. I mean, I've got stuff here that I do and...you know."

_"Will that really work though? I don't know exactly how things work over there, but I'm pretty sure being a high school dropout doesn't give you many options for work."_

Ben scoffed, "I can get around that. I can easily get a GED, got to Manhattan State. I'll be fine...I'm sure. Maybe I'll be a Doctor or something." he mumbled.

Tsukune sighed from the other side, _"Okay...if that's really what you want." __Of course it isn't. _Ben thought, _I want to see my friends, but I have a responsibility here. _Tsukune could be heard tapping at his keyboard from the other side, _"Look, why don't you just...think about it. You can sleep on it and come to school...maybe a little late Monday."_

"Yeah..."

_"Well, I gotta get off, I need to start packing.__" _

"Don't forget Holy Water, and garlic." Ben joked.

_"Geez, it isn't THAT dangerous. See you Ben."_

"Laters my dude." Tsukune logged off and Ben sat there on the Steam page unsure what to do. _I can't go. I really have to do things here. Leaving Aunt May would be irresponsible. _Ben got out of his chair and stretched. He removed his shirt and began to feel his new set of wounds from his last couple outings: A large black and blue spot along the left side of his rib cage, a couple bruises along his chest, and..."AH!" he yelped in pain. He grabbed his right butt cheek to see the hole that was left by a stray bullet, "Goddamn Taskmaster." he mumbled as he put some antiseptic on it. Looking past his wounds he could actually admire his body, his muscles are much more defined than they were a year ago he has become, by definition, jacked. Not only did he look stronger, but he felt stronger too. He noticed he actually had to start holding back more than usual with the typical mook. _I wonder if I'm close to Kaine's strength these days__?_

Popping his neck he walked out in the hallway and into the bathroom to take a shower.

Downstairs, Kaine Parker, was awoken by the sound of the shower turning on from the upstairs, as well as food cooking in the kitchen, "Ugggghhh..." he groaned. He turned on the tv to the local news channel and jumped off the couch when he saw what time it was, "7:15?" he asked, "Why didn't he wake me up?" Kaine rubbed his eyes and quickly began grabbing his things, coat, pants. "A system, there is supposed to be a system!" he complained. He went and grabbed the mail, it looks like it hadn't been grabbed in a few days, "Christ, Ben." he groaned. Flipping through the junk mail, various 'Digest' magazines, and the occasional bill, Kaine came across a piece of mail for Ben. "Yokai?" he asked, "That's that school right? Looks like he got this a couple days ago." he came inside and threw away the unnecessary mail and placed the bill's and Ben's schoop letter on the counter. "I'm heading out, May." Kaine announced as he grabbed some toast, "Ben has a letter from school, he may want to see it." Kaine quickly shoved the toast in his mouth and ran out the front door, he had an important job to do. He took the morning shift...sort of, he would stop the occasional thief or something minuscule, but when it came to something big like say a super villain or a robbery, or, God forbid, an armed militia, he expected to be paid by a nice little group he was in called "Heroes for Hire." The mayor has a bit of an agreement that if the Heroes for Hire get involved, their actions will be compensated, and since Scarlet Spider (Kaine) was the only Hero for Hire the last few months, he's been getting a nice paycheck.

May stopped cooking breakfast and looked at the mail. She nearly collapsed when she saw that the school was more than willing to take Ben back as a student. She decided that she'd discuss what he wants whenever he decided to leave Peter's room. IF he left the room.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Annnnnnnnd. Done!" Ben announced to himself as he finished a commission. "Payday seems pretty nice, maybe I can treat myself to an ice cream or something." his stomach began to rumble and he laughed, "Or food downstairs sounds good too." Ben walked down the steps and checked the time, "11:30? Damn, I have to get going soon."

"Language, Ben." May warned. Ben gave a nervous smile and apologized. As he shoveled food into his mouth, May walked into the kitchen and placed the letter in front of him.

"Wastch jissh?" he asked with his mouth full and May smacked the top of his head, "Sorry." he apologized.

"It's a letter dear." May explained with a smile, "You have been asked to return to that school. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Ben gulped, "Yeah...sounds...sounds great." _Great, now May knows._ "C-Can we talk about this later?" he asked, "I mean, there's just a lot on my plate." he gestured to his food, "And I kinda need to clear it before I get going."

May smiled and kissed his forehead, "Of course."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ben swung through the city at high speeds, usually he likes to start his patrol early, but that's only because he likes to assess the situation in Queens before heading to his usual spots in Midtown. _Back to Yokai, huh? Nah. I think I should sit this one out. Those guys are good enough to where they could handle problems on their own. _While in midtown, Ben decided to make a quick pit stop at the Daily Bugle. It wasn't for any particular reason, but he found making Jameson blow his top by simply being separated by a sheet of glass was hilarious. Afterwards he'd swing on down to Chinatown and grab some food, it wasn't anything major, but he found an odd restaurant that was a Mexican-Asian blend of food and it surprisingly tasted good. Eventually he made his way towards Hell's Kitchen, gave a wave to Daredevil and continued on his way. He went to the cemetary where he placed down flowers for Ben Parker as well as for Gwen and George Stacy. _Fuck, this is heartbreaking. _Ben began his swing back to Midtown and thought about calling it a night (It was about 1 am at this point) when he spotted Kaine, of all people, just sitting on top of one of the many skyscrapers. Ben shot a Web Line in his direction and decided to see what's up, "Yo, Kaine!" he called out.

"Oh, you're here. You about to call it a night?" Kaine responded.

"Yeah...why are you here though? Shouldn't you be at home sleeping?" Ben cocked a lens in confusion.

Kaine chuckled, "Yeah, but I need to practice for when you go back to school."

"What are you talking about? I'm staying here."

Kaine sighed and stood up, "I figured you'd say that. Listen, Ben," his tone, though always serious, changed enough to where Ben had noticed he was being extra serious, "that school...whatever it did to you it made you find something. It made you find yourself, your purpose. Before you had no idea who you were or what you were going to be, after you returned from that school you had this aura about you. You were certain in yourself." Kaine sighed, "And, as much as I hate to admit it, it probably has something to do with that girl...even though she is a vampire."

"Well...I don't think that-"

"Shut up. You know you still have feelings for her, so now that you have a chance to see her again you suddenly don't want to. Why? It's because your scared. Scared that now your relationship will be weird, but it doesn't have to. You could stay here and avoid her like a little bitch, but you won't. You know why?"

"W-Why?"

"Because you aren't Peter, you are Ben-fucking-Reilly. You have seen hell and you defied some strong as all hell monsters. You even did the impossible and BEFRIENDED a vampire. That is something even I wouldn't do, and I'm partners with Blade from time to time. Now you are going to rest and you are going to go to that school or soul help me god I will drag you there myself!"

"Why do you want me to go?" Ben asked.

"I don't. I'd rather you stay here and help out, but you have done a lot and have given us enough allies to where it practically doesn't matter at this point." Kaine explained.

"Aunt May set you up to this, huh?"

"That obvious? I thought I was doing a pretty decent job at convincing you otherwise."

Ben chuckled and patted Kaine's shoulder, "Thanks Kaine. I'll think about it."

He didn't think about. In fact, he fully planned on not attending again. Better to have love and lost than never have loved at all. He even snuck out of the house early Sunday morning and spent his day with at The Daily Grind talking with his boss, a beautiful brunette who is the daughter of the owners. When Ben finally returned home Monday afternoon he thought May would be out; however, Aunt May was already waiting for him, as well as Kaine who looked EXTREMELY tired.

"Ben." Aunt May said with a frown as she stirred her tea, "Home late aren't you." Ben opened his mouth to respond, but May stopped him, "You are going to that school Ben. I will not have one of my nephews be a dropout."

"Ugh! Double standard!" Ben complained as he pointed to Kaine.

"I already have my GED." he replied.

"Enough." May interrupted, "Ben, you will go to school and when you do you need to let everything be known. Don't have any regrets," she pinched Ben's cheek, "Wear your emotions on your sleeve. Don't be afraid to show them who you are." Ben sighed and then smiled before nodding, "Oh and Ben," May called as Ben went upstairs, "Your clothes are already packed. So if there is anything else you better pack it." Ben gave a thumbs up and closed the door to his room.

_Well Aunt May is getting upset, so I guess I have to go. _He thought. _Well then...I will definitely let it be known that I meant what I said._ With newfound determination, Ben began to pack his bag. _Okay, I'll be a day late, head out tomorrow. _Kaine then burst in the room and nearly gave Ben a heart attack, "By the way, in case you forgot, Japan is 13 hours ahead of us so if you want to only be a day late you'll have to leave later tonight."

"Ugggghhhhh." Ben groaned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At about 7 pm, Kaine had driven Ben to the warp tunnel in Jersey. "So, you gonna drive me through?" Ben asked. His response was Kaine snorting, "So...I'll take that as a 'no' then." Ben got out of the van and waved to Kaine as he just left him at the warp. Ben then called the school for a ride. _Dammit._ About an hour and a half later, a bus came through the tunnel with The Bus Driver, same as always.

"Took you long enough." the Bus Driver said with a smile, "I was wondering if you would show up this year. Gotta say, your friend looked really disappointed you didn't show for the first day."

"Oh, Tsukune?" Ben asked.

"Well...he wasn't the only one." the Bus Driver replied as he drove through the tunnel. Before he knew it, Ben was looking at the blood red sea that splashed against the school, on the other side was the ever expansive forest. "You know the drill, this is your last chance to give up. Once off this bus, your scariest fears will be unleashed."

"I survived a suicide attempt when my body was being controlled by a crazy demon dude. I think I have this year handled." Ben smirked as he stepped off the bus.

"Heh heh. Well, have this." the Bus Driver handed him some sort of schedule, "Because you're a day late you can walk to your dorm, and then to your next class. It's a free study period that will be held in the forest." the Bus Driver smiled before driving off.

"Well...fuck." Ben mumbled. Ben walked down the spooky pathway, reminiscing about his first time through here, "Creepy pathway? Check. Have a pretty good idea on what the year will be like? Check. Reestablished peroxide in hair?" Ben pulled out his phone to look at his hair and saw it was brown, "No...shit, I must have forgot all about it when I got my haircut." Ben put his phone away and looked onward to the refurbished school. He sighed and laughed, "This school is a creature of chaos. It takes on many forms." As Ben walked up to the school towards he was soon accompanied by a bat flying by. The bat didn't fly past him, nor did it stop on a tree, instead it followed him. "Well, hey there little guy." Ben greeted with a smile, "I don't think you and I have met before. Well...should I introduce myself." the bat made a squeaking sound, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Ben cleared his throat and began, "Alright, listen up, because I'm only gonna go over this once. My name...is Ben Reilly. And for the last six months I have been the one and only Sensational Spider-Man. See my life all started when I was cloned from the original Spider-Man, and was told I was the real deal, so Spider-Man and I ended up battling each other. I later found out that, SURPRISE! I'm not the original, but the clone. Once I figured that out I became the Scarlet Spider and was soon tasked with an important job to investigate this school.

"Well to keep it pretty short, I stopped some evil enforcers, beat some teachers, fought a witch in the human world, almost died...a few times, defeated my inner demons to find my purpose, fell in love, and helped stop a group of asshole students from destroying the school from the inside out.

"Afterwards, after realizing the death of my brother, I took over the name, confessed my feelings to the person I love, went back home and formed a relationship with my Aunt, saved the day, saved it some more, became friends with one of my brother's worst enemies, became a barista and now I draw porn to make money." the bat squeaked and Ben laughed, "Yes, I said I draw porn to make money. After my artwork got popular on the internet and began getting shared all over the place I was asked if commissioned lewd images. And surprisingly...sex sells." As Ben approached the dorms the bat began to fly away, "Oh, okay. Nice talking to you!" Ben rubbed his temples as he reached the door to his dorm, _Christ, Ben. You were just talking to a fucking bat, man. You need some rest._ Ben opened the door and threw his stuff in the room followed by some stretching and yawning.

"Can't believe I'm actually back." Ben took a quick look around at the dorm and nodded, "Yeah, I'll set up shop when I get back." he set up an alarm clock and walked out the front door. "So next class...he said it was free-study, but where at?" he looked at the paper where there was a crudely drawn map by the Bus Driver that included a cigar, which Ben assumed was meant to be the Bus Driver, a cat and an 'X'. "X marks the spot...I guess. But that's way out in the forest!" he complained, "I suppose I deserve this for being late."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ben had made it to the middle of a clearing in the forest, "Okay...it looks like this is where they'll be, but..." he looked around and noticed a distinct absence of students, "Nobody's here. Well...I guess I could...lay around, catch up on some sleep." he yawned, "Note to self, 5 hours of sleep in three days is a no-no." he lied down and crossed his legs and folded his arms to get comfortable. His eyes began to drift in and out of conciousness until he finally closed his eyes. _This is nice. _He was comfortable, he felt a nice breeze blow across him. _SPIDER SENSE!_ Ben got up to move, but before he knew it his body was attached to vines and a giant mouth came from the dirt and began to close on him, "NO!" Ben shouted. He tried to break free, but it was too late. Whatever it was, it closed it's mouth around Ben and dug back into the ground. Now all he could feel was slimy, mucus-like substance in this dark and moist prison. He tried to punch his way out, but with the combination of the thing stealing his energy and the creature being underground, his whole effort seemed fruitless. "I come back, and on the first day I'm going to die. GOD DAMNED PARKER LUCK!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Tsukune**

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune sat at his desk during his math class. Apparently he had Ririko again this year, as did all his friends, it seems the Headmaster wants to keep all the people that know his identity in one class. It was only the second day of classes for him, but he felt this intense disappointment that Ben decided not to attend this year. _But I have to respect his wishes. _Tsukune thought, _Ben has his reasons. He has his aunt to take care of, he works...I thought if I asked him then maybe he'e come back but..._he sighed as he was left in his thoughts. His eyes drifted all over the room, already he managed to stop paying attention to Ririko in class. _I will really have to rely on my friends for help if this keeps up. If Ben were here he could just help me with that but..._"Kurumu." Ririko called, causing Tsukune to snap back at attention, "Kurumu?" Ririko called again. Kurumu, who sits in front of Tsukune, was fast asleep at her desk, some mumbling was heard and it was obvious she had some dream involving the human. Ririko smiled and pushed up her glasses before she threw a triangle shaped straight edge at Kurumu's head to wake her up, _Oh my God! It's stuck in her head!_ Tsukune felt as if his soul about left his body. "Morning Kurumu," Ririko greeted with an irritated smile, "having a pleasant dream?" the class laughed at Kurumu's expense causing her to get flustered and hide her face. "Now then, Akashiya, can you solve this?"

Moka stood up from her seat and went through the whole problem as well as gave an answer, and she did so with such elegance and confidence. She was too good for Tsukune, he knew that, but still..._She's wonderful. _he thought. _Her other side too, she's wonderful in a different way. She truly does care, even in secret. But it seems when I...accidentally let her out yesterday, she seemed displeased. Not just because of me! But like...well, like she was really hoping to see someone else. _"Tsukune! Quit day dreaming!" Ririko demanded causing Tsukune to nearly jump out of his seat from the sudden call out, "Listen, you're sophomores now. You've been out of school for nearly six months, so please try to focus. Oh, and Kurumu," the bell began to ring and the students were getting up to leave, "please follow Moka's example." That request made Kurumu grit her teeth in anger.

"Follow Moka's example!" Yukari imitated, "Yeah, as if! He stupidity is monumental!" Yukari laughed while pounding her desk.

"Uh...Yukari, don't you think that's taking things too far?" Tsukune, of course, didn't want a fight to break out amongst his friends on the second day of school, so he tried to calm the situation, "I mean, Ririko was only talking about Math in particular, right?"

Mizore, always being the one to pop out of nowhere, popped next to Tsukune's desk, "Yeah but...Math is Kurumu's BEST subject."

"Oh shut up, ice bitch!" Kurumu shouted. She stood up and walked to Moka with a haughty aura around her, "Who cares if I'm not good in school? Everyone knows that I will always be better than Moka when it comes to hotness." to prove her point, Kurumu pressed her boobs against Moka's.

"OH! This is getting bad, HEY! Let's check out the next class." Tsukune suggested as he led the others to what should have been Nekonome's class, but instead they were greeted to a poster on the chalkboard. 'Self Study: Periods 3-4. Meet at Bus stop in front of school.' it read. "Self study?" Tsukune asked, "What does that mean?"

After a quick bus ride to the middle of the forest, or rather, a clearing within the forest, the students got off the bus and were greeted by Nekonome. Tsukune's jaw dropped when he saw that behind Nekonome was an ungodly amount of fruit. "HELLO!" Nekonome greeted in her usual cheerful tone, "Welcome students, to a special self-study project...the Spring Fruit Hunt!"

_Fruit hunt?_ This already did not sound like a good idea to Tsukune, "Um, Ms. Nekonome, why are we hunting fruit?" he asked.

Nekonome tilted her head and laughed as if it was obvious, "Well...because there are a lot of fruit that are in season!"

"That's the reason!?"

Nekonome clasped her hands together and continued, "The forest is full of wild strawberries, grapes, birds (and giant carnivorous plants that feed off the birds) so we must take advantage of natures bounty!" Nekonome cheered and perhaps subconsciously struck a cat-like pose.

"Don't just gloss over the fact you said that there was something scary in there!" Tsukune complained.

Nekonome smiled and removed a small tarp she had set up on the table with fruit to reveal a prickly fruit with what looked to be teeth and tendrils. "And this is the prize of the hunt! The Monster Durian! It's rare and difficult to harvest," she grabbed a butchers knife and began hacking at the fruit, "but has a distinctive aroma, beautiful flaming red flesh. It truly is one of nature's genuine treasure!"

Tsukune pointed to the fruit and chuckled, "Someone would actually want to eat that? You're crazy. Right Moka?" when Tsukune turned his head he saw all his friends drooling over the fruit saying how yummy it looked, "Crazy, all of you!" _I mean, forget the fact it looks gross, but who decided that Tentacle Porn x Petey Piranha was a good idea here?!_

Kurumu shook her head and a smile creeped along her face, "Moka, I think I know how to handle our little competition for Tsukune."

Moka nodded, "First to find the durian first wins."

"And whomever finds it gets to eat it alone with Tsukune." Kurumu finished.

Tsukune's eyes widened in shock, "Hell no, I'm not eating that!"

"I'm game." Mizore added.

"Same here!" Yukari announced.

Before the students left, Nekonome gave them one more crucial piece of advice, "Oh and, PLEASE stay in groups of at least four. The forest is a dangerous place. Also remember to not stray too far away. Alright...have fun!"

Tsukune and the girls quickly made their way into the forest stumbling across all sorts of plants and creatures. _AH! Those mushrooms have faces! AH! Those berries are covered in centipedes! _Tsukune sighed, "You know, I'm starting to think the fruit itself may be the worst thing out here." Tsukune looked at his friends all independently searching for the fruit instead of sticking together as a team like he hoped, "Ah, c'mon guys, let's stick together. If we search together we can accomplish anything."

The girls all turned to him with frowns, "No way," Kurumu scoffed, "if we work together then how can I win?"

"That wasn't the point!" Tsukune scolded. Tsukune wiped his face with his hands and groaned, "Look, why can't we have a regular old fruit hunt? Look! There's a bunch of grapes right there!" he pointed to some grape vines.

"Don't want grapes. Want durian." Kurumu replied in the most caveman-esque way possible.

"Why the hell do you want to eat that nasty thing?!" Tsukune laughed, "Besides, what's the likelihood of us finding one? Nekonome said it herself, durians are really rare, and we don't have the foggiest idea of where to-" Tsukune stopped as he noticed Kurumu was staring just behind him below his feet. He had hear a weird, kinda moist, noise and looked behind him to see the durian. The amount of shock he had was uncanny. _You've gotta be fucking kidding me. _

Moka, being the first to react, picked up the durian and waved it around like a trophy, "I got it! I got it! It was destiny!" the tendrils on the fruit began to grow and stretch as it began to wrap around Moka, "EEK! The vines are going around me and-" her eyes widened when one of the tendrils slipped itself underneath her bra, "UNDER MY CLOTHES!" she was able to knock it off, however she also felt like she lost a bunch of energy.

Kurumu blinked and smiled, "It's mine!" she shouted as she went after the fruit. Before she could come close to touching it dozens of sharp ice objects came flying past her courtesy of Mizore.

Mizore walked to the fruit, that she was able to trap, and picked it up with her ice claws. "Moka was a fool to let her prey get away like that, but I guess the win's--GUAH!" Mizore dropped the fruit as Kurumu slammed her head with a fan.

"You hit me too you bitch!" Kurumu looked up to see the durian moving away from their sights, "Agh! It's trying to get away, c'mon Tsukune!"

"What about them?" Tsukune asked as Mizore lied on the ground and Yukari was helping Moka. The two continued to chase after the fruit and the feeling Tsukune had about this being a bad idea got worse and worse. "Hey, don't you think the way this thing is moving is weird?"

"What do you mean?" Kurumu asked as she huffed while running.

"It's just that, it's clearly pretty far ahead of us...but it isn't leaving our eyesight. It's almost as if it's leading us somewhere." Tsukune gulped. The two were finally able to make it out of the tree dense forest and into the clearing where the fruit was just waiting for them. "It's just sitting there..." Tsukune mumbled, he quickly grabbed Kurumu's wrist, "Maybe we should wait for the others here." he suggested.

Kurumu quickly pulled her arm out of Tsukune's grasp, "Are you nuts? Wait for them? When victory is practically in my grasp?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this. This isn't a time for in-fighting."

Kurumu looked to Tsukune with sad eyes and a pouty face, "But...don't you want to eat the durian with me?"

Tsukune tried avoiding eye contact on the question, _I don't really want to eat that fruit with anyone! But I can't tell her that..._"That...isn't my point." he replied.

Kurumu huffed in annoyance and quickly rushed to the durian to grab it. She picked up the fruit and waved it around, "See? I can nab it all by myself." she held the fruit close and her smile turned into a frown, "If I wait for that stupid vampire...you'll never be mine...You'll just keep slipping away from me. I'm going to eat this with you Tsukune...and nobody else."

"Oh, Kurumu." _I don't want to lose you either, you're my friend. _

Before Kurumu knew it she was shoved to the ground by Moka, "Kurumu, look out!" Kurumu slid along the ground while the fruit dropped out of her hands and landed next to Moka. Moka squatted down and picked up the fruit herself.

"What the hell?" Kurumu asked in shock, "Hey! Give that back!" Kurumu took two steps forward and suddenly giant teeth like structures came from the dirt and engulfed Moka. The being rose from the ground and showed itself to be a giant plant monster. "What the hell?"

"Oh no!" Yukari yelled as she and Mizore came running up to Tsukune and Kurumu, "This is a durian's true form. It's a carnivorous plant! The fruits they produce are used to lure in their prey like an Angler Fish...or a pedophile."

Kurumu stood in shock, "Moka was...eaten? She...She saved me?" the giant plant roared and the teens jumped back and got ready for a fight. _No! _Tsukune thought, _No, I can't let them get hurt...and I have to save Moka._ Tsukune looked at his wrist at his Holy Lock, _I have no choice. _He began to run forward, but stopped when the monster began to gurgle, like it was going to puke.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Out in the distance, by a large lake, the Bus Driver and Ms. Nekonome sat fishing. A howl in the wind blew and the Bus Driver chuckled, "Hm...Sounds like somebody got trapped by that pesky fruit again. She should we...send the calvary?" he asked, but no response, "Ms. Nekonome?"

Nekonome whistled happily as she watched her bobber in the water for if something happened, "Oh...we shouldn't coddle them. After all, they'll learn a great deal more if the do it themselves." she felt a tug at her line and smiled, "After all," she grunted as she pulled the fish in, "this is a self-study class."

The Bus Driver took a puff on his cigar, "Yeah, that was the plan. When they added self-study to the curriculum, the idea was to help the kids survive in a harsh environment." he chuckled, "If I know one thing...whomever is in trouble in there...they are certain to get assistance from a certain someone..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Moka had just been devoured by the carnivorous plant, before she knew it she was sliding down the monsters slimy...throat...towards its innards. **_Not exactly ideal. _**her 'Inner' self complained, **_I mean, how the hell do you expect us to get out of this?_**

**Music Cue: Give it Away--Red Hot Chilli Peppers**

"Is that...music?" Moka asked. Before she knew it she had landed on something that grunted in pain.

"_Ugh! Oh man...that hurt._" the voice said. It was speaking english, which Moka found to be really strange. "_Who landed on me?_" the person, definitely a man, reached their hand up and grabbed Moka's chest.

"EEP!"

"Oh shit! Uh...sorry?" **_Wait...that voice..._**"Hold on, it's dark in here, let me grab a light." the person turned on his phone and soon Moka was face to face with someone she never expected to see again, "OH. MY. GOD!" he cheered. It was Ben.

"B-Ben?"

"YEEEEEESSSS!" Ben reached his hand over Moka's chest and grabbed her rosary, "Am I still worthy?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune stopped ad he thought the monster was going to throw up. Instead of that though, he heard a voice. "Heh, seriously Kurumu..." _The other Moka? But how?! _"Did you honestly think a little sprout like this could take me? I'm not fertilizer you know."

"Yeah, I've heard of being a piece of shit, but this is ridiculous--OW!" another voice was inside with Moka.

"Shut up, idiot!" before the teens knew it, a giant hole wss blasted through the monsters stomach with Moka coming through it, as well as what looked to he a student in her arms. Moka landed and threw the student to the ground who hacked and wheezed.

"Oh god!" he dry heeved, "That thing was so gross. It smells like a hoarders living room." the man stood up and began dusting off his blazer.

"Wait...is that..?" Yukari asked.

"Ben?" Tsukune said with complete surprise.

"Why isn't his hair blond?" Mizore asked.

"Agh! SO GROSS!" Ben shouted, "You see vegans, this is what happens!" he pointed to the plant, "You eat ONLY plants, and they start eating back. UGHH...and it's so slimy, and gross...I feel like a bukkake pornstar." Yukari had to hold back a snort. Ben grabbed what was once a tendril attacked to his neck and ripped it out, "Fuck this thing hurts." Ben looked at Moka and gave her a finger gun, "Thanks."

Moka turned her head away, "Hmph."

"Ouch." Ben mumbled.

Kurumu walked up to Moka and gave her a hug, "I'm sorry." she saw that Moka wasn't even attempting to pay any attention to Ben, "Hey...what are you doing? Isn't this what you wanted?" she whispered.

"I...don't know what you're talking about." Moka replied with a slight blush.

"Ben, are you okay?" Tsukune asked. He went to hug Ben but stopped when he noticed all the slime on him.

"I understand." Ben smiled.

"You're not hurt are you?"

Ben laughed, "That thing? Nah! I mean, it could always be worse." Ben's smile slowly turned into a frown, then a look of disappointment, finally a look of terror with him pulling his hair and crouching. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Ben cried as he slammed his fist against the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" Moka asked.

Ben slowly stood up with his head down. He slowly pointed behind him, past Moka, "They're right behind us...aren't they?"

Moka cocked an eyebrow and looked behind her, she had to quickly do a double take as she saw two more of those same carnivorous plants, "What the--? How the hell did you know that?"

"Damn you Parker Luck!" Ben shouted to the heavens. Ben chuckled and began removing his tie and blazer, "Okay...time to be a little serious." he was quick to toss his clothes to the side to reveal his Spider-Man outfit underneath. He cracked his neck and out on his mask. "So, you uh...gonna help or, like...are you pissed?" Moka simply glared at Ben and he clapped his hands together, "Right." he nodded. "I'm getting a weird sense of déjà vu right now." he mumbled. Ben ran up to the first plant and began to dodge it's large tendrils.

"Hey?" Kurumu whispered to Moka, "What's with you? I know you want to help him out. And you said yesterday that you were hoping he'd be here...so why are you pushing him away." Moka just frowned and watched Ben fight against the plant.

Ben used his webbing to tie up several tendrils together. When the plant tried to use it's several tied tendril as one large tendril to slam against Ben, he dodged and ran along the plant until he got around the mouth area, "Now I wait." he said. The other plant began using it's tendrils to try to slam Ben, but instead hurt its own brethren. Ben jumped to the other plant and the first plant he was on cocked back it's super tendril he created and jabbed forward and pierced through it's brethren. The plant screeched in pain and collapsed to the ground with a gaping hole in it's chest. "Oh no...did I make you kill your brother? Yeah, welcome to the club. You get used to it." Ben taunted. He dodged another attack and slid back towards his friends. "Oh!" he shouted in surprise as the mega tendril came crashing down on him. He caught the massive vine, but cried out in pain, "AHHHH, HUAGH! Ohhhh...those are broken ribs." he groaned. Ben, using both hands, gripped the massive tendril, "Alright you bastard! Up! And! Over!" Ben, anticipating to just rip the tendrils off, or even just trip the monster, widened his lenses in surprise when he saw that he had actually thrown the massive plant a solid seventy meters. "Holy shit."

"Holy shit." Tsukune mumbled, "He's stronger."

"WOO!" Ben cheered, "Did you fucking see that? My, oh, my! That was amazing!" Ben punched the air with a cheer.

"Okay...but it's coming back." Moka said, pointing at the monster. Ben stood up straight and placed his hand to his chin in thought, he then snapped his fingers. Ben pulled out his phone and began scrolling.

**Music Cue: Devils Never Cry--Devil May Cry 3 OST**

"Okay, I got this." Ben held up his right hand and began shooting Web Balls at rapid speed at the plant's chest area forming a heart. He then used his left hand and shot a Web Line all around the monsters body but didn't tie it up. He laughed as he in what could be a flamenco dance pose and clapped his hands together twice. The Web Balls he shot suddenly turned to ice and soon there was a giant frozen ice heart on the plant's chest. Ben then spun around and finished with a Micheal Jackson pose, pointing at the plant. The Web Line's then spontaneously ignited in flame. The plant cried out in pain. Finally, Ben shot a Web Line to the center of the heart on the plant's chest and yanked as hard as he could. The end result was a heart shaped hole in the plant's chest and the fruit rolling towards the group.

"Um..." was all Kurumu could say.

"What was that?!" Yukari asked with wide eyes.

"Been playing a lot of Devil May Cry lately?" Tsukune asked.

"Pyro Webs, and Freeze Webs. With a little bit of science, like mixing together specific chemicals into my standard fluid, I can make my webs either combust or freeze depending on the cartridge with a very specific sound frequency that I have built into my Web Shooters." Ben clapped his hands together, "Oh, and, yeah. I'm on a Dante Must Die playthrough of DMC5 right now."

"Amazing!" Yukari was drooling, she always was fond of Ben's smarts.

"Figured." Tsukune nodded.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Okay, but seriously, I understand wanting fruit, but why did it have to be the one that looks like Tentacle Porn mixed with Petey Piranha?" Ben asked. He was now, regrettably, back in his regular clothes.

"THANK YOU!" Tsukune shouted. The girls though, didn't care, they happily ate their fruit in peace...except Moka who strangely didn't revert back to her normal form.

"Perhaps she has something to say." Yukari whispered to Kurumu who nodded in agreement.

"Hey Ben," Tsukune asked, "How come you didn't want to show up?"

"Well, I thought only you cared." Ben mentioned causing the girls to stop and stare at him with questioning glances.

"What are you talking about?" Kurumu asked?

"Well, I didn't talk to you guys in the six months, except Tsukune. I don't have your guys's information." Ben explained.

"Well...Ben." Mizore started.

"We can't read and write english." Kurumu said with a laugh, "And you can't read Japanese, weirdo."

Ben held his head in shock, "Oh my god. I'm such an idiot!" Ben said as he slammed his head on the table laughing, "It wasn't you guys didn't want to talk to me, but that there was a language barrier."

"Duh!" Kurumu smiled, "We're your friends Ben, school life wouldn't be the same without you." Ben laughed in response and even decided to try the durian...instantly regretting it in seconds.

It looked like Moka was going to say something, but was interrupted by Ben, "Okay, we'll have to catch up like...tomorrow because I'm running on 5 hours of sleep in the last three days. So..." Ben lied his head on the table and almost instantly he was asleep.

"We...still have to carry him back." Tsukune groaned. Tsukune tried to lift up Ben on his own, but noticed something, "Oh geez, he's heavier!"

"I'll take him." Moka offered, surprising the human. After they had taken the bus back to the front of the school, Moka carried Ben all the way back to his dorm (she found out because he still had his letter in his pocket, albeit very wet). When she stepped up to his door she looked to her right to see Tsukune was entering his dorm...right next door.

"Oh..." Tsukune said with a nervous chuckle, "Um...I could-"

"It's fine. I'm already here." she groaned as she opened Ben's door, "Well, at least I didn't have to break it this time." she mumbled. She removed Ben's clothes so that he was in his suit...which was surprisingly dry, and threw him on his bed. Moka went to leave bit stopped. **_Come on..._**Her outer self said, **_This is what you wanted right? To see him?_** Though she couldn't see it, Moka could practically FEEL her outer personality grinning. Moka sighed and closed the door to Ben's room to make sure nobody heard what she would say. She walked over to Ben's bed and sat down and stroked his hair, "_I...I'm not angry. I'm not upset in any way._" she said in english, "_It's just...what you said back then...it was so sudden, and felt like we truly would never see each other again. But this feeling in my head kept telling me I'd see you again. When I didn't see you yesterday, I was disappointed, but seeing you now is...nice. What I'm trying to say is, I don't know if you truly meant what you said before...but if you did, it is quite flattering._" she chuckled, "_It's too bad that...my other cares for someone else._" she leaned over and kissed Ben's forehead before she left.

When the door shut, Ben opened his eyes and a large grin was plastered across his face. He jumped out of his bed and silently cheered. "I guess that means you kinda like me, huh? Wonder what happens if I take May's advice and wear my emotions on my sleeve?"

**To be continued...****A/N: Hello and welcome to the sequel. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. This story is gonna be a wild ride because: I haven't read all of Season 2! So this will be a first for me. I initially wasn't gonna do this until I had purchased all the volumes...but that was gonna take awhile because of college and stuff. But! Thanks to the power of the internet, I have discovered that the initial fan translations of season 2 are still on Manga Dex, I would shell out the 5$ a month for Viz Media, but you know what I found out? Their translations kinda suck sometimes. They changed Kokoa's name to Koko. KOKO! Why did they change it? Even Funimation called her Kokoa in their dub for the anime. So I'll use manga dex to help me out for most of the story. Man, I can't wait. This is gonna be fun, oh and after next chapter I'll probably start on my side series which I'll call: Life and Times of Ben Reilly. The premise is that the students, like Kurumu, Moka, Tsukune, maybe even Keito, were curious about his adventures and Ben starts to tell his story of the last six months...not necessarily in order just kinda going story for story, as I said before, like vignettes.****So, what will happen next? Will Ben bleach his hair? Will Moka ever be honest to Ben's face? Will Ben hit on Moka more? Hahahaha...Yeah, probably.****Remember to Review, Follow and Favorite. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to send a PM.****See you next time guys, keep it real. **


	2. Two of Them?

**Two of Them?**

**Music Cue: Orgy For One--Ninja Sex Party**

Ben woke up the next day much more livelier than usual...that means two things. In his defense, it wasn't ENTIRELY because of his libido, but rather of a guest that pops into his head from time to time. Dreamqueen, a succubus, the daughter of Nightmare, grew quite fond of Ben after he humiliated her father. With his permission, as he requested, the two have a bit of an agreement, she gives him good dreams in exchange she takes away some vitality. At first it was pretty difficult but after a couple of weeks Ben felt perfectly fine, perhaps he just got used to it, perhaps it was because he got stronger. His dreams are usually standard good dreams, ones that try to detract from his everyday life like going to the beach...or occasionally recieving a massage. But he is a man after all, a man with accelerated aging, that means his hormones hit twice as hard and to deal with it he prefers to just have dreams.

Ben stretched and yawned, rubbing his side in the process. _You ask for the strangest things sometimes human._ Dreamqueen mentioned with a chuckle. "Are you still here?" Ben asked, "Don't you usually leave?" _I was planning on staying back to see if you...relieved yourself or not._ "You are weird." _I'm a succubus and you AVOID sleeping with me in any form. I'm pent up, I need stimulation, but everytime you ask for something sexual you always request that I'm not there. I have to sit outside a window and--_ "Lalalalala! Not listening!" Ben said while plugging his ears, "Why don't you deal with other people? I mean, we are at a school full of teenagers." _And be branded a pedophile for the rest of my many years? I don't think so._ Ben smelled his costume and cringed at the smell, seems that the aroma from the plant seeped into his suit, "That needs a deep clean." he mentioned as he threw his suit in the washer, "Anyways, I'm 17." _No. That's what your license says, but you can't deny truth. You are a clone, and your template would currently be 18. On top of that, you have accelerated aging, your body is roughly about the age of 21._ "Does that mean I can drink?" Ben joked. _I won't tell if you won't._ Dreamqueen chuckled. Ben turned on the hot water for the shower and began removing the rest of his clothes, "Are you gonna go or..?" _No, no. It's fine. Nothing I haven't seen._ Ben stepped into the shower and began to relax with the rhythmic hum of the water splashing onto his body combined with his heartbeat all the aches and pains he had would drown out and he could let his mind wander. _It's that girl._ Dreamqueen hummed, _Are you happy you let your feelings be known? Are you happy that you have no regrets._ "Of course." Ben replied as he spit water from his mouth, "I'm also glad that she may feel the same way...so I'm gonna keep it that way by showing her that I care." _How cute. Oh, to be young again.__ So what's your plan, Fabio?_ she chuckled. Ben got out of the shower and dried himself off, "Be more aggressive?" _Not bad. But I'm assuming you mean you are going to be more forward?_ "Yes. Be more forward, tell more jokes." _Hit on her more!_ Dreamqueen suggested "Good, now I have a gameplan." Ben put on his button up, he didn't even put an undershirt on underneath, "Okay, you heading out anytime soon or what?" _What? You don't want my help wooing her over?_ "No, I think I'd rather do this on my own. If I have a wingman I'd prefer them not to be my..." he stopped in thought, "Dream Dealer? Is that what I should call you?" _Sure._ she chuckled.

Ben clapped his hands together, "Okay, let's get up and at 'em!" He walked out his dorm with a smile on his face. He hopped over the railing and fell the two stories to the ground. _First full day of class. Hopefully things will be mellow. _"Hahahaha! Ahhhh...that is never going to happen." Ben looked up ahead on the path and saw a female figure walking with an off center bun in her hair. Judging by her outfit she was an enforcer, the black dress suit was enough to tell him that, but the clothes were EXTREMELY tight and the skirt was even shorter than a typical student skirt, and that was saying something. _Business sexy..._Ben thought with a gulp, _I...I think I unlocked a new fetish. _The woman stopped in the middle of the pathway and Ben was about to walk past her, _Okay, who are you?_ Before Ben could pass the woman she held out her hand in front of his throat.

"Ben...Reilly..." the woman said with venom in her voice. She glanced to her left where Ben was standing and he got a good view of what she looked like. Her complexion was very pale, she had purple eyeliner and smokey eyeshadow as well maroon lipstick.

"Oh my god, Keito." Ben said with slight fear in his voice.

Keito frowned and slowly turned into a smirk before pulling him in for a hug, "Oh my god, how are you? Oh, you got strong." Keito began feeling Ben's arm muscles and followed it towards his chest, "Uh...Really strong..."

"Keito, you're drooling."

"What?!" Keito wiped her mouth and Ben laughed.

"Ha, fooled you. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. I just wanted to say how proud I am of my little kouhai." she smiled while pinching Ben's cheek. _I am like six inches taller than you and a solid 80 pounds heavier, but okay. _Ben thought. "I heard about what you did, I'll be honest, nothing makes me happier than the fact you kept your promise."

"Did I though?" Ben asked.

"Of course! You confessed your feelings. Even took it a step beyond and kissed the girl, that was what surprised me the most." Keito laughed, "I'm glad your back...your friends were missing you. From what I saw, some missed you more than others." Ben stopped slightly with a smile. Keito smirked back and flicked his forehead, "I never said who...stupid." she teased, "All I know is that they really wanted you to be here on the first day." she winked and began walking towards the Enforcers building.

"Keito!" Ben called out and the Spider Woman turned around, "Nice ass!"

Keito tried to pull her skirt down more, "Pervert!" she yelled but still laughed all the same, "Welcome back to monster high...human."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune was hoping, just once, he could have an ordinary morning at school. But no, he once again was denied a basic request as he was being chased by a wild beast from the forest. "Oh, COME ON!" he shouted as he ran through the front gate with a giant monster boar-like creature following close behind.

"Look, Aono has a porcupine chasing him." a student laughed.

"Poor guy." a girl said with an empathetic expression.

"Porcupine?! This thing is freaking HUGE!!" Try as Tsukune might he wasn't able to out run the monster. The porcupine jumped up and latched it's teeth on Tsukune's head, "Ow, ow, OWWWW!!" he cried out as the weight of the beast dragged him to the ground and his head started to bleed. Tsukune suddenly felt the weight of the beast off his back and he looked up to see Ben punching the porcupine off him. This was followed by a loud 'thunk' kind of sound, like a sound of something hard colliding with someone's head.

"AUGH!" Ben shouted out.

"I'm sorry! That wasn't meant for you. You were just...faster than I anticipated." Tsukune stood up, thanks to Ben giving him a quick lift, and was face to face with a girl he never met before. She was kinda cute looking with her orange hair tied into twin tails by plaid ribbons. She had light skin and green colored eyes. Her clothes were interesting as she wore a maroon sailor suit, a skirt that definitely belonged to the school and thigh high socks. "No offense, but you probably shouldn't have gotten in my way." she commented while looking at Ben who had a little bit of blood dripping down his head.

"Nah, it's all good." he smiled, "Not a lot of people jump into action to save others, so it was a bit of a shock is all."

"Thanks Ben." Tsukune smiled. He about fell backwards when the girl got real close to his face. She had a slight smile and began to sniff him, "Uh...can I help you?"

"Incredible..." she said with a drooling mouth, "your blood smells delicious." she moved her head by his face and licked the blood as it dripped down."

"Wow, another one." Ben said. When he moved closer, the girl about jumped backwards pinching her nose. "It's probably me. I don't smell to good to vampires."

"How could you tell I was a vampire?" the girl asked.

"You have fangs and liked his blood." Ben shrugged, "Really...don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that out." the bell began to ring and the girl gasped in surprise.

"Damn, I'll be late for the ceremony!" the girl dashed off with a bat following close behind her.

"That freshman was...really weird." Tsukune said with a face of disbelief.

"I know." Ben nodded, "Why was she wearing strawberry pattern panties?"

"BEN!"

"What?" Ben shrugged, "That's a legitimate question. It's like if a guy wore heart pattern boxers."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune stayed behind after the opening ceremony to meet up with Moka, apparently she volunteered to help set up so he wanted to make sure he caught her afterwards. He was able to go to a concrete porch on the fourth floor to meet up with her. "Tsukune!" Moka called out in an excited tone. She quickly ran up to him, clasped her hands together and gave a very sweet smile, "Good morning! May I drink your blood?"

"Oh, straight to the point, huh?" Tsukune sighed, "I mean, c'mon! What kind of greeting was that!"

"Sorry." Moka laughed while pacing in place and rubbing her arm, "It's just that I had to help with the ceremony ALLLLL morning and I've been really parched, so..." she clasped her hands together and stuck her tongue out with a smile, "just a sip?"

"I'm not an energy drink!" Tsukune complained.

"But Tsukuneeeeeee." Moka whined. She stopped and began to smell, she got close to Tsukune and bebegan smelling his body. Tsukune flinched a little bit when Moka began to sniff at the nape of his neck, "Have you been cut recently? Because you smell...bloody. Like, a-a-a LOT of blood!" her face began to become flush and she had a goofy smile on her face now, as if she had gotten drunk off the smell of Tsukune's blood, "I can't take it anymore! Just a sip, c'mon!"

"I thought you wanted to know if I was okay, but with the way your acting now I may actually die!" Tsukune said as he tried to keep Moka's reach away from his neck, "Truth is...a freshman told me my blood smelled delicious this morning." Moka's expression became serious as she began to pay attention to what Tsukune was saying, "The girl was really weird and began licking my blood off my face. Do you think that she was...another vampire?"

Ben, who was eaves dropping on the two beneath the concrete porch, chuckled to himself. He was trying to find a place to do his commissions in peace, "Dumbass wasn't paying attention again."

Moka, upon hearing Tsukune's words, recoiled backwards in shock, so much so that she had hit the stone railing behind her. **_Hey, watch where you're going! _**"WAGH!"

"Moka!" Tsukune reached out to try and grab Moka, but was surprised she hadn't fallen.

"What would you guys ever do without me?" Ben asked as he used his hand to lift her back onto the porch. He climbed up and squatted on the railing as if it was normal, "I mean, seriously, with everything that has happened in just...a day, I'm surprised you guys didn't die on the first day." he chuckled.

Moka clutched her chest, her heart beating incredibly fast, "Thanks Ben." **_Yes, thank you from saving us from her incompetence. _**"Hey!" Moka cleared her throat and continued with what she was going to ask, "Tsukune. This girl, did she have brownish dyed hair?" Tsukune nodded, "Anime styled twin tails like so?" Moka put her hair into twin tails and Ben chuckled, _'Anime styled twin tails'_. "And did she have knee high socks as well as a pet bat?!" Moka pulled her socks as high as possible and flapped her hands to immitate a bat.

Tsukune gulped as he stared at Moka who looked like she had an insane expression, "Uh...Yeah?" Tsukune nodded. Moka's expression turned from crazy to serious as she dashed past Tsukune and Ben.

"Wow, she's moving like the T-1000." Ben chuckled, "Oh, uh...that's a-"

"Terminator right?" Tsukune asked, "From Terminator 2?"

Ben stared at Tsukune, he turned his head and bit his finger before wiping away a tear. He then gave Tsukune a teary eyed smile, "I love you." the two tried to stay composed, but both broke into laughter at the same time, "No, but seriously, we should probably chase after her." Tsukune nodded and the two went to catch up to Moka with Ben swinging through the hallways. Once they came close, Ben let Tsukune run while he continued to swing down the hall. "So, what's up with this other vampire?" Ben asked, "She is a vampire right? Not an Onimodoki like Junya and not a dude who was bitten by a genetically engineered vampire bat?"

Moka didn't give a straight answer, she just kept running full sprint towards the classroom, "I need to get my things and clear out for today. Tsukune, be careful of that girl. She's an absolute horror once she fixates on her target...she'll hunt them down to the ends of the earth!"

"Oh, like my brother and Shocker." Ben joked.

"That girl is llike superglue." Moka continued.

"How do you know her?" Tsukune asked, breathing heavily from running.

"I know her because I'M her target!" Moka yelled out, "That girl, is hunting me!" Moka burst through the door to Nekonome's classroom to see Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari, as well as some other female students, crowded around the freshman girl that Tsukune and Ben encountered that morning.

"Oh," Kurumu said as she looked up to see Moka out of breath practically sweating, "Moka you have a guest." she laughed as she pointed to the freshman who sat with her legs crossed in Moka's seat adorning a cheeky smirk.

"Fooooouuuuund you." the girl giggled.

Moka gulped and adjusted the hair in front of her face, "Kokoa." she breathed out.

Tsukune and Ben popped from behind Moka causing Kokoa to jump out of Moka's seat with glee, "It's that guy from this morning!" she pointed, "He just absolutely has the tastiest blood!"

"Hey, it's the girl who hit me over the head with her briefcase...We were just talking about you." Ben smirked, "All good things, don't worry. My favorite quality about you is that apparently you're pretty sticky. Don't worry...so am I." he smiled and pointed to himself.

"Don't care." Kokoa groaned, "Your blood smells gross. But HIM," she pointed to Tsukune again, "to think he'd be here with you, Moka. It must be fate." she smiled and shuffled her feet in place while she silently cheered with joy.

Moka stepped in front of the human and blocked him away from Kokoa, "Leave him alone Kokoa. He's my friend so just...leave him alone."

Kokoa sighed and practically gagged, "Please, don't be such a mother hen." she began to hum as she walked back to Moka's desk and lifted it up by its legs, "Besides...you know why I'm here." she closed her eyes, smiled and tilted her head. Her smile faded and quickly turned into a look of aggression as she swung the desk at Moka and Tsukune, Ben quickly hopped onto the ceiling and used his webs to move Tsukune and Moka away from the sudden attack. _That was pretty cheeky of her. Though from what Moka said...it's to be expected. If she is willing to attack anywhere as long as the time seems right. _Ben rubbed his chin, _It's like Kraven all over again. _Kokoa, ignoring the direction that Tsukune went in kept swinging the desk trying to hit Moka, but to no avail. _Girl's quicker than I thought. _Ben smiled, _Guess Moka's been hitting those 'Dodging Lessons' that Piccolo taught Gohan._ Ben chuckled. "Die Moka, die!"

"Wait, she wants to fight?" Tsukune asked, "Why?!"

"Why do you think?" Ben asked.

"Because fighting is fun!" Kokoa exclaimed with a large smile on her face. She now had Moka cornered and there was nowhere to escape. Tsukune trying to help Moka stepped in front of Kokoa's attack. He likely would have been hit and probably would have lost conciousness had Ben not webbed the desk from across the room and yanked it from Kokoa's hands before dropping the desk to the ground in it's previously designated spot. He then dropped from the ceiling and landed on top of the desk and stayed crouching as he watched how the situation would play out.

"Hey you bitch!" Kurumu called out as she began walking towards Kokoa, "If you have a problem with Moka you'll have to deal with us. But if you try and hurt Tsukune like that again you'll have to deal with me!" Ben grabbed Kurumu's wrist to get her to stop, "BEN! Let...go!"

"Bad idea...I can sense it. She's pretty strong." Ben said as he analyzed the freshman.

Kokoa looked around and saw Mizore and Yukari stood up and were in a more aggressive stance showing they were ready to fight when needed. "Guys wait!" Moka called out, "Please, don't hurt her beacuse...because she's my sister!"

Kurumu's, Mizore's, Tsukune's, and Yukari's eyes all widened in shock. "Ah, there's the reason." Ben nodded, "That's why they know each other so well. And why they kinda look like each other." Ben chuckled, "Crazy sibling wants to kill you just to prove a point that they're stronger and better than you in every single way. Damn, that hits close to home."

Kokoa looked around the room and scoffed, "Well...there's too many people here right now anyways. Next time, I'll force you to transform and fight me for real." she walked out through the door and looked back as it closed with a smirk, "Laters...big sis." _That was the most intimidating 'good bye' I have seen in a long while. _Ben thought.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kurumu brought everybody away from the classroom and had the group stand by the stairwell. They all leaned against the railings, except Mizore who was slightly away from the group and leaning against the corner of the wall slowly sliding down to sit, and Ben who just hung upside down by his web. "Alright Moka." Kurumu started as she began rubbing her neck and sighing, "Who the hell is that, what the hell is going on, and why the hell is she trying to kill you! (And almost Tsukune.)" she mumbled the last part.

Moka sighed and rubbed her arm in discomfort, _I guess this is a pretty tough subject for her. _Ben thought. "Her name is Kokoa Shuzen. She's my half-sister. We are the youngest of four girls. We have different mothers, but when we were little we used to live together. My memories of that time are...a little hazy, but I can still remember some things. For one thing, we fought every day. It was natural to us. This was before my powers were sealed by the rosario so..." she chuckled nervously, "I never lost. Not once." Moka gulped, "But...there came a time when we could no longer keep things the way they were. I was to live with my mother in the human world where I would likely never see Kokoa again as the me that she remembers."

"You're powers were sealed." Ben mentioned and Moka nodded.

"She promised that she would chase me down, that she would finally beat me. No matter what it took or where her exploits took her." Moka continued, "Well, she wasn't lying. Long after I had moved to the human world she would chase me down to try and fight me, but all my powers were sealed away and I didn't know how to fight anymore...so I ran." the group stood in a bit of stunned silence.

"Hold on." Kurumu spoke up, "So you mean to say that the only reason she enrolled to Yokai was over some petty...sibling rivalry?"

"Makes sense, if this place wasn't a school full of monsters I could see Kaine doing the same thing to me...well, before. Now he's all like 'I have a GED go fuck yourself Ben.'" Ben said imitating Kaine's more gravelly voice.

Yukari sighed and rubbed her temples, "That girl's persistence is almost inspiring." Yukari gasped when a thought came to her, "Hold on Moka, haven't you told her that you can't remove the seal on your own?"

"I tried!" Moka gripped her rosary and frowned, "But it's no use. She thinks that if she keeps provoking me I'll eventually transform and fight back."

"That's what Vergil did to Dante in Devil May Cry, so I can see why she would think that." Tsukune, of all people, joked. Ben laughed and gave the human an upside down high five. Tsukune rubbed his chin in thought, "Are you sure beating you is the only thing she's after?" Moka looked at Tsukune and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Tsukune chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well...it's just that...this morning she tried to help me, and likely would have saved me if Ben didn't beat her to it. She seemed nice." he smiled, "I just wonder if maybe there is more to her than-" Moka turned around to show she wasn't exactly interested on what Tsukune had thought after one encounter with her sister.

Moka leaned against the railing and used her right foot to scratch the back of her left calf, "Sorry but...this isn't any of your concern. This is between me and Kokoa. And I want to keep it that way. I can handle her on my own."

"Done." Ben said as he clapped his hands together.

"What?!" Tsukune began to protest, but Ben webbed his mouth shut.

"This is your problem to deal with. That's what you said right? Family issues and all that." Ben dropped down and clasped the bottom of the railing before lifting himself up so that he was face to face with Moka, "Just remember that your actions have consequences. Things may not turn out the way you want them to." he looked Moka in the eyes and she didn't seem to change expression and a huge grin spread across his face, "Or perhaps...they'll go exactly the way you expect them to." he let go of the rail with one hand so that he could rotate his body and regrab the railing off to Moka's right (his left) he then lifted his body up so he was sitting on the railing and stretched his arms, "Besides. I understand what you mean. I wouldn't want someone to fuck with Kaine either. So go get 'em tiger. Do your best, I'll be rooting for you." a faint grin was placed on Moka's face as she left to confront Kokoa.

"You're going to crash their fight aren't you?" Kurumu asked while Yukari and Mizore helped get the webbing off Tsukune's face.

"Nah." Ben shrugged, "I'm gonna bring the popcorn and a lawn chair. See where it goes first. I trust you'll be there too?" he looked to Kurumu and the others.

"Of course." Tsukune announced when the webbing was removed from his mouth, "We have to support Moka in any way that we can."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Moka moved to an area that wouldn't have a sparce student population and the best choice, in her mind, was a clearing surrounded by gravestones and dead trees. She didn't have to worry about alerting to Kokoa where she would be as she knew Kokoa would find her when she wanted to. Moka gulped as she thought about how the encounter would go, for her there would only be a few end results and they all are essentially the same with Kokoa beating Moka mercilessly hoping she'll transform. **_Calm down. We don't know for sure that the end result will be as bad as we think. You just need to relax and keep a level head. _**Her 'Inner' self told her, **_Remember, Kokoa is primarily a weapons fighter. You don't exactly know how to fight, but of you can get the weapon out of her hands you may stand a chance._** The wind blew and laughing was heard, **_Be ready! She's here._** "I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" Kokoa laughed as she approached Moka, "I knew you couldn't keep running away forever. So...are you finally going to fight me?"

Moka gulped and clenched her fists as she thought about earlier in the classroom when Tsukune was almost hurt and her friends were ready to step in over Kokoa's desire to fight her, "I have no choice. If you keep going like this you'll end up getting more people mixed up in our business." Moka swallowed her fears and looked up at Kokoa with a determined look, "So before anything else can go wrong, we're ending this here and now!"

Kokoa practically jumped for joy as an almost sadistic smile creeped along her face, "Yay! I'm so happy!" Kokoa reached her hand out to the bat that followed her around and the chiroptera began to transform until it became a large mace larger than even Kokoa's body, but with vampiric strength the counterbalance works out as to not have the front be to heavy but also not have the whole thing be so light she loses control of her movement. With a mighty battle cry Kokoa swung her mace into the ground to try and smash Moka, the latter dodge rolled out of the way into some headstones scraping her knee in the process. **_Look, you aren't a fighter so find something to defend yourself. _**Moka looked around and grabbed a post in the shape of a cross, **_Not ideal but okay._** Kokoa put her hand to her face to try and hide her smug smile, "You honestly think you can beat me with that puny thing?" Kokoa swung again and narrowly missed slamming Moka in the face with her mace. She continually swung the mace at rapid speeds and laughed.

"KOKOA!!" Moka shouted. Kokoa cocked back for one more attack but stopped mere centimeters from Moka's head. "I'm sorry..." Moka apologized, "I tried my hardest, really I did but...you win."

"Why?" Kokoa asked. Moka looked up and Kokoa dropped her mace, tears welling up in her eyes, "Why won't you fight me for real?" she cried while rubbing her eyes. Don't you understand how badly I was looking forward to this fight." she sniffled, "Year after year, in that empty house...nobody to fight with. How do you think that feels?!"

"I get it now!" Kokoa jumped slightly and Moka looked over her shoulder to see Tsukune and her friends, "You're not mad. You're just lonely."

"Guys?" Moka called out in confusion. Kurumu and Yukari sat on headstones, Tsukune waved nervously, Mizore was sitting in an ice throne and Ben was sitting in a lawn chair with popcorn in a bag. Moka cocked an eyebrow at Mizore, "Should I ask...or..?"

"Ben made a compelling argument about not desecrating graves." she replied with a smirk before forming an ice crown and placing it on her head, "Hail to the Queen, baby."

"I taught her that." Ben chimed in.

"Listen." Tsukune continued, "That's the real reason you kept chasing Moka, isn't it Kokoa? Not because you want to defeat her, but because you want her to pay attention to you? You don't have to do that anymore." Tsukune smiled, "You're at the same school now and can see each other all the time."

"Oh, Kokoa." Moka gasped, "I'm sorry I had no idea." _Yeah, this is gonna go south reeeeeaaaal fast. _"We're still sisters right? Can we...can we still be friends?" Moka asked as she held out her hand.

Kokoa's eyes continued to get more and more watery, "That's not..." she sniffed, "That's not it AT ALL!" she shouted, swinging her mace again.

"W-Wait? That wasn't the problem? But it sounded so insightful!" Tsukune complained. _Knew it. _Ben thought. He stood up and began to stretch, popping his back in the process.

"Don't give me this 'let's be friends' crap!" Kokoa yelled as she cocked back her mace for a massive smash. Tsukune ran over to Moka and tried to protect her, "I...I HATE YOU!!" Kokoa slammed her mace down and it looked as though she had crushed both Moka and Tsukune.

Tsukune had his hand hovering over Moka's rosary, but he couldn't grab it due to the white substance attached to his hand, "What the?" he looked up to see Ben using his left arm and shoulder hold back the mace and his right arm to keep Tsukune from releasing the 'Inner' Moka. "Ben, what the hell!?"

"Sorry, not sorry, but..." Ben grunted as he lifted the mace up slightly, "no reason to let her out. Besides...she made this personal." Ben shoved Tsukune and Moka away from Kokoa before he slammed the mace into the ground and used his momentum to flip on it with his hand followed by gripping one of the spikes with his other hand, spinning on the weapon and kicking Kokoa in the face. The resulting kick caused the vampiress to let go of her weapon and slide across the dirt.

Moka reached out as if to stop Ben, "Ben no, she's my-"

"Don't care Moka. This is personal to me now." Ben replied while popping his neck, "Sorry Kokoa, but the fact of the matter is that I don't care whose relative you are, I don't take too kindly to those who try to hurt my friends." Ben began to loosen his tie and undid the first two buttons on his shirt.

Kokoa stood up and rubbed her jaw with a frown, "And who the hell do you think you are?"

"Name's Ben Reilly," the American greeted, "But you can call me Spider-Man."

"Well, arachnid, if you are so willing to get in my way to fight my sister," she smirked, "I guess it can't be helped. I'll grant your little death wish." Ben smirked in response.

"This is dumb." Kurumu said in disbelief, "He's so dumb. We have to stop him before he gets himself hurt."

**_Nononono, STOP! Me, stop them! I want to see this through_****_!_** "Wait!" Moka called out, stopping Kurumu and Yukari. Moka shuffled in place and rubbed her arm, "My other...she wants to see Ben fight."

"Are you CRAZY! Ben can't fight her she's a vampire and he's a Meta-Human! He doesn't stand a chance!" Kurumu complained as she threw her arms in the air.

"I can hear you!" Ben called out in an annoyed tone, "Okay listen up, I have a few ground rules to go over before we duke it out." Ben mentioned to Kokoa, "Firstly, don't hit me here." he said while pointing at his left side, circling around where his ribs would be, "If you hit me here I'm going to be really. Fucking. Pissed. And," he laughed, "I will punch you really...hard." he smirked. "Finally...do you want your weapon?" he asked.

"Huh?" Kokoa asked, surprised that he would even suggest giving her her weapon back.

"I could like, toss it over if you want." Ben suggested.

"HA!" Kokoa laughed, "How absurd! A meta-human, a lowly species such as yourself could never hope to even lift what is meant for a vam-" Kokoa stopped mid sentence and stared in disbelief as her mace was thrown through the air back at her, "-pire?" she finished before catching her weapon. She looked at Ben who rubbed his left side in pain, "Just a fluke." she said quietly." Kokoa twirled her mace around before getting into a fighting stance, "Fine, if you want to get in my way from fighting my sister, I don't mind breaking you."

**Music Cue: Keanu Reeves--Logic**

Ben smirked and took a deep breath before getting in his own fighting stance. His stance was something that Moka noticed was different from the year before. Last year he had a boxer's stance, but now his stance resembled that of an experienced martial artist. Kokoa dashed forward with her mace and began to wave and swing all over the place with Ben expertly dodging the attacks by contorting his body and flipping through the air. Kokoa cocked the mace back and was ready to slam the weapon over Ben's head, "Cha Cha real smooth." he laughed as he slid practically right against Kokoa and shoulder rammed her. The vampiress slid backward and grunted in annoyance. "Yeah, don't know if you know this but, a long range weapon like that mace is pretty much useless once I get out of your attack range, be it far away or up close."

Kokoa smirked and gripped her weapon tightly as it transformed into a katana, "You're pretty good...but I've got a bunch of toys that I'm a master with."

"Anyone can be a master with a toy sweetie, it takes a real partner to be a master with their hands." Ben shot back emphasizing his point by crunching his index and middle finger up and down.

"Oh..." Kurumu said with an impressed expression as she thought Ben was saying his hand to hand was so skilled that he can beat any weapon specialist. She then thought about it some more, "OH!" she shouted in realization before laughing, "Oh man, Ben's gotten a little dirty since we last saw him. That was pretty funny."

**_Oh, Christ...PHRASING! _**Moka's 'Inner' self called through the rosary.

"It was intentional!" Ben yelled back with a laugh. _Okay Ben, the girl is using a katana now. You have more than enough experience against this type of weapon so just--_ "WOAH!" Ben barely was able to dodge a slice from Kokoa that would have surely cleaved him in half. He wasn't fast enough though as he felt a sharp pain in his right side, "Ow." he covered his hand on his right side and felt the deep cut and saw the blood on his hand and the fluid spreading along his white shirt. "You bitch...this is a white shirt! Do you know how much lemon and seltzer water I'll have to use to clean this out?" Ben tore of his shirt and traced that cut that was a solid six inches in length on his side. Using his webbing, Ben sprayed a thin layer to patch up his cut and absorb the blood. He looked at his shirt and put his arm through the hole and groaned in annoyance, "See, this is why I wear red. It's so people can't see me bleed and it doesn't show up on my clothes." he grumbled.

Yukari tugged at Kurumu's shirt and pulled the succubus' ear towards her mouth, "Hey, Ben looks way different right?" Yukari whispered.

"Yeah, he got surprisingly built in the six months." Kurumu replied, "I guess he really stuck to that workout regimen."

"I may have missed that time," Kokoa smirked as Ben's blood dripped off the tip of her blade, "But this time I'll be sure to cut you into pieces!" Kokoa slashed forward again and Ben was narrowly able to avoid becoming a spider fillet. However, now Ben had much more mobility thanks to the lack of stiffness from his shirt. _She's moving fast, I'm trying to follow it with my eyes._ he thought, _I'll have to use the 'ol Mysterio-ass-kicking technique. _Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What? Accepted your fate already?" Kokoa laughed, "Guess you realized that you are facing against a superior being you TRASH!" Kokoa swung her blade again, and Ben was able to avoid the slices like he was the opposite end of a magnet and he kept getting pushed away. Kokoa, with a mighty battle cry sliced downwards and was shocked when Ben stopped the blade between both his hands.

Ben opened his eyes and smirked, his arms struggling slightly because Kokoa was a vampire; however, the blade would not leave his grasp due to his adhesive abilities. Ben fought against Kokoa the best he could and was able to lift the sword up as he walked closer to the young vampire. He then kicked her stomach and let go of the sword before he shot two webs behind Kokoa and slid between her legs, just to end up behind her. Kokoa began to turn, but Ben was too quick and was able to twist her arm that the sword was in and slam her locked elbow against his shoulder, the resulting pain made Kokoa drop the sword. Ben then kicked the sword in the air and forced it to stab itself into a tree. He then followed this up by elbowing Kokoa in the face and cobra striking her away from him. "Huh? WHAT?!" Kokoa asked in frustration as she realized this...worthless trash of a species had disarmed her.

"C'mon wimp." Ben taunted as he got ready to fight in hand to hand. Kokoa got into her own fighting stance, but Ben thought something looked off. _Wait.. why is she so square? Why is she standing so broad and not at an angle? Her feet are flat on the ground and her fists are practically covering her vision._ Ben's eyes widened in realization, "Oh my god, you don't know how to do hand-to-hand combat."

"Shut up!" Kokoa shouted, and embarrassed blush on her face, "With my strength and speed, you'll be done for!" Kokoa ran up and would clumsily throw punches, they were simple hooks, but very sloppy. _This is...surreal. _Ben thought as he bobbed and weaved through each of her attacks. Unlike Moka, who had grace and elegance in her kick attacks (a refined fighting style according to her), Kokoa's punches were amateurish and very basic. Like a drunken bar fighter or a kid at the playground. Kokoa's hand-to-hand compared to her weapons mastery...it's night and day. _This is just sad. _Ben blocked on of her hooks and was able to flip his arm around so that he could lock Kokoa's arm between his arm and his body (further helped by his adhesive ability) he punched Kokoa in the gut three times with his free arm before pushing her away, just so he could shoot a Web Line at her chest to pull her back and unleash a headbutt. Ben continued to hit Kokoa with counter attacks or slide behind her just so he could get up and kick her. "This isn't possible..." Kokoa coughed out, "You can't over power a mighty vampire...you are...scum."

"Okay, let's finish this." Ben crouched low and prepared his hands before sending a barrage of pool punches and kicks, "CRAWLER..." he shouted before finishing his barrage with a roundhouse to Kokoa's face that launched her along the ground, "ASSAULT!!" Kokoa slowly began to lift herself off the ground as Ben held his left side feeling a slight pain from his broken ribs. "I didn't overpower you, dumbass." he said as he stood up, "I'm just a more technically skilled combatant. Frankly, you suck, and without your little familiar you wouldn't be able to fight worth jack."

"Shut up..." Kokoa grumbled out, her fists began to clutch the dirt, "SHUT UP!" A powerful aura began to emanate from Kokoa's body, "AGGHHHHHH!!"

"This is like before." Kurumu gulped.

"Yeah...this is like Moka." Mizore added.

"Tsukune, now would be a good time to let my other out." Moka mentioned with a worried expression. Tsukune nodded and removed her rosary without hesitation.

Kokoa kept screaming in anger and her weapon flew back to her, similar to Thor calling upon MJOLNIR. She transformed the weapon back into a mace and dashed forward with a look in her eyes that showed complete intent to kill. "DIE...BASTARD!"

"Not so fast, Kokoa." Moka jumped in front of Ben and in mid attack, Kokoa dropped her mace and tackled Moka for a hug.

"BIG SISTER!!" she cheered, "It's you! It's really you, you're here!"

"What?" Moka smiled sweetly, "Of course I am, I'm always here."

Ben turned his head and hid his smiling face, _Dammit! Why did Moka have to smile like that. She looks so adorable!_ He quickly looked back and turned his head again, _That is a smile that I want to replicate. That is a smile I want to protect or PROTECC as the new kids are saying. _

Moka stood up with Kokoa and smirked, "Okay...you said you wanted a fight?" Kokoa nodded, "Good." Kokoa got ready and in a mere instant she was kicked across the clearing and into a couple of trees. She gave a thumbs up to show she was okay and just continued to lay there, reveling in the moment. "Ben." Moka called out.

"Holy shit, will she be okay?" Ben asked, "Like...should I call a doctor? A blood donor? Tsukune?"

"She'll be fine." Moka waved it off as if it was normal, _This ain't normal woman! _"I must say I am...Impressed. I didn't think you could hold your own against a vampire like that." Ben snorted, "What?"

"Oh pah-lease! I kicked your ass!" he taunted.

Moka cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "Wait...are you counting THAT? From last year?" she scoffed, "That doesn't count."

"Mmhm, sounds like something a sore loser would say. Which, if I recall, you complained the next day about being sore...Uhh...wait..." Ben chuckled, "Sorry, phrasing."

"No, I was in a weakened state, that shouldn't count. You don't get a handicap."

"Handicap?!" Ben asked with a laugh, "What are you taaaalking about?! My head was split open, and I had just come from the hospital, AND I fought both you and Tsukune. YOU had the handicap!"

"Vampires don't need handicaps. We are completely fine fighting off whomever."

"BULLSHIT!" Ben chuckled, "Historical documents show that humans kicked Dracula's ass time and time again!"

Moka groaned and rubbed her temples with her hands, "Ugh, for the last time. Ben, Castlevania is NOT a historical document of the life of Dracula, if anything it's a parody like...like..." Moka struggled to come up with something and Ben just laughed at her, "What?"

"Nothing." Ben trying to contain his smile, "You trying to come up with a shitty joke...it's kinda cute. You're like awkward and bad at it."

"Oh, so I have just as much skill as you? Good, it seems I've improved." Moka retorted causing Ben to clap his hands and laugh.

"Okay...that was pretty good."

Moka may not have laughed, bit she did give a slight smirk, "You're ridiculous. Fighting my sister head on."

"Hey, I've gotten strong!" Ben flexed and immediately began holding his side in pain, "Ohhh, broken ribs." he groaned.

"You're body looks like shit, what did you do in the last six months?" Moka asked.

"Oh, man...those are some stories I'll have to tell all you guys. Times were pretty wacky."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The students began to walk back to their dorms when a though popped in Kurumu's head, "Hey...You think that now Kokoa knows we can release the other Moka, you think she'll leave Moka alone? Or will she keep attacking her every day?"

"Fuck it." Ben replied.

"Really? That's the answer?" Tsukune asked, "Not some, philosophical answer that only you could come up with? Not-Not-Not some...some stupid joke just...'fuck it'?"

"Eh, fuck it." Ben replied as he continued walking to the dorms whistling 'Old Town Roads'.

Tsukune chuckled, "Yeah...guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**The Next Day...**

"We crossed it." Tsukune groaned as even before classes started, Kokoa was chasing around Moka trying to get her to transform again.

"C'mon, change!" she shouted as she swung her mace happily through the air. Kokoa stopped when she saw Ben drop from above her, using a Web Line to slow his descent before hitting the ground. "HEY!" Kokoa called oout to Ben. The American turned with a piece of toast hanging in his mouth.

"Cam lou make thith quick? I'm late." Ben complained with food in his mouth.

"What you did yesterday...was a fluke! A fluke, you hear me!" Kokoa yelled out, "Clearly a lowly being like you can't beat a vampire truly. Haha! Yes, you were lucky that my sister stepped in, otherwise I would have destroyed you!" _Kinda cocky, but okay. _

Ben swallowed his food and checked his watch, "Well...I'm late. Thanks Coco." he gave a thumbs up, "If you ever want a rematch, just let me know...unless you're gonna be a sore loser." he smirked.

"I'll fight you any day, anywhere!" Kokoa replied as she began to lift up her mace.

"Woah, woah!" Ben stopped, "I have some stipulations. Firstly, to make this a fair fight you can't use your weapons." Kokoa cocked an eyebrow, "Oh, but don't worry, you can use your monstrous strength. And you can't just attack me in class, we have to at least be in the halls or something. OH! And it is considered a loss once you are: immobilized, dead, pinned, or you tap out. Sound good?"

Kokoa thought about it for a quick second before letting her weapon turn back into her bat, "Okay. Let's do this...arachnid."

"Okay. Go!" Ben jumped over Kokoa onto the wall and webbed her towards him. He then ensnared her in a full cartridge of webbing before hanging her upside down from a tree.

"Hey! Let me down!" she complained.

"Oh, you're immobilized. Seems like I won." Ben shrugged, "Nice try vampire. Better luck next time."

Ben left and Kokoa continued to hang from the tree thrashing about to try and break free, to no avail. "GOD DAMMIT!" It seems she found a new opponent to fight when her sister was unavailable.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: New chapter is out. I have a headache. So...be on the lookout for the first of that side story. Remember to review, follow and favorite. Laters. **


	3. Tales of the Sensational Spider-Man! (1)

**TALES OF BEN REILLY: THE SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN!**

**Shocker**

Ben, Kurumu, Mizore, Moka, Tsukune and Yukari all sat in the Newspaper Club working on the first article for the year. "Ben," Yukari asked as she tapped away at her laptop, "You mentioned that you were on a bunch of crazy adventures over the last six months. What exactly happened?"

Ben wrote out his article in deep thought, "Well...the past always comes back to haunt you, and by that I mean that you are bound to run into that crazy ex that you always see on the street. You know what I mean?"

**_You had a girlfriend? _**Moka's 'Inner' self asked. "You had a girlfriend?" Moka herself asked.

"_Pfft_! No! I'm a loser, a super turbo virgin!" he laughed. "No, it was a metaphor for possibly one of my brothers most constant villains that he ever would face. Herman Schultz: The Shocker."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was a typical morning in Queens. Ben woke up early in the morning, his first day at The Daily Grind started today. _Man...I really hope they teach me how to make coffee because I am really fucking tired. _He thought with a yawn. Ben walked over to his mirror and noticed he had began to develop more muscle than he usually had, _Guess my workouts have really been helping out lately. _he smiled. He walked out of the room and went to the bathroom to clean himself up. He turned the shower on and looked at himself in the mirror again, _Wow, I need to shave._ he thought as he saw a five o'clock shadow began to form. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled at his fresh cut, though admittedly, he needed to redye it again. His hair was completely brown with no hints of blond and he groaned in annoyance, _That's boring. _

After his shower Ben ran down the stairs to the kitchen where Aunt May had made omelettes, plural because Ben could really eat. On the tv a report came across about Spider-Man stopping a runaway train whose braking systems malfunctioned causing it to go haywire._ "Furthermore, after Spider-Man stopped the train, we have information from the city that state the damages done to the tracks are close to the tens of thousands."_ Aunt May looked to Ben who was trying to hurry and finish his food so he didn't get scolded.

"Benjamin. Reilly." May said sternly.

Ben stopped and slowly swallowed the rest of his food, "Yes?" he asked trying to sound calm. May crossed her arms and frowned, "It wasn't my fault!" Ben defended, "It was either I tore up some of the track or I let the train crash, I couldn't do that! I mean...I got the job done right?"

May sighed and kissed his forehead, "I'm not concerned about that. I'm concerned about the situations you put yourself in."

"Oh, that?" Ben waved his hand and laughed, "Nah, it could have been way worse Aunt May. This was just a train, but I deal with people who shoot at me with guns all the time." May tilted her head and gave Ben a stern look, "Uh...I mean, I am being completely careful when I do my job. I wouldn't want to hurt you by getting hurt!" _Good save Ben!_ he applauded in his head. "Oh, look at the time, I have to hurry so I can be time for work! See ya' Aunt May!" Ben quickly put on his Retro 1's and ran out the front door. _Okay, I have thirty minutes to get to work...well, might as well take the express way! _Ben quickly slapped on his new and improved Web Shooters he made when he became Spider-Man, not as bulky and a little bit more concealable.

**Music Cue: Don't Stop Me Now--Queen**

Running down an alleyway, Ben jumped into the air and shot a Web Line, making sure he was high enough above the ground so that he couldn't be recognized. "WOO-HOO!" he shouted while he swung through the air and performed intense acrobatic tricks. Ben shot another Web Line and began to cross the Queensboro bridge before swinging up high in the air again. He began to swing through Midtown and even swung past Kaine who sat on the edge of a building reading a copy of the Daily Bugle, "Morning, Kaine!" Ben called out as he swung past.

"Go fuck yourself!" Kaine called back as he flipped to the sports section, "Christ, Giants...really cutting that Bucs game close, eh?" he said with a groan before he continued with the paper.

Ben swung to the coffee shop in downtown Midtown and perched himself on the roof, "Okay, now to get down where people won't see me." he said to himself before looking all around. He eventually saw an alleyway that looked like it didn't have a lot of foot traffic, "Bingo!" Jumping down, Ben emerged from the alley as if it was normal smiling at people as he walked by and even gave a five dollar bill to some street performers. When Ben opened the door he was greeted to the sweet smell of fresh coffee being brewed and cookies baking. The inside looked pretty baron, which explains why Ben was hired for only part time, but hopefully he'll make full time once he proves himself.

He was hired by chance from the store owners daughter, who practically ran the store since her parents were getting older. Her name was Shirley Washington, a young and beautiful black woman with a bit of a frizzy female fro going on. With her yellow work shirt and her maroon colored apron, Ben couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked. He also couldn't help but notice how tired she looked as she quickly ducked behind the cold case and leaned her head a against it, her signature move Ben noticed after the few times he came here. "Long day?" Ben asked as he stepped behind the counter ready for his first official day.

"Oh, Mr. Reilly." Shirley yawned, "Long week is more like it. I'm glad my parents let me hire you, I really need the extra help." She slapped Ben on the shoulder and brought him to the back where he could put on his work shirt, "So, what do you know about coffee?"

"Jack and shii-"

"STOP!" Shirley interrupted before pointing to a mason jar with "swear" written on it, "Every time you curse you lose one dollar of your tips, and that jar there goes to my parents."

"I don't know much. I can make drip coffee." Ben said with a sigh.

"Well, you came at the right time!" Shirley smiled, "Because we are fucking dead!" Ben pointed to the swear jar, "Rule 2: I'm your boss, I don't have to follow that rule unless my momma is here." she chuckled before walking back out to the front counter. _Well...that kinda sucks. _Ben followed Shirley out to the front where she taught him how to make more basic coffees by using a French Press, "You see, because the hot water doesn't filter through the ground beans you get a more richer flavor, as well as a stronger coffee overall." she explained. Ben nodded and mentally took notes. "This is the blender, we use this for the younger crowd, or single woman on their way to work." Shirley laughed, "Ahem, its used to make a frappuccino, really not super difficult, so if you follow the instructions on the paper you'll be fine." Ben nodded and with his little experience began serving the few customers that came.

The bell at the door rang, meaning a new customer entered...or one had left, but one had entered! A black man, somewhere in his early thirties came and sat at the counter. "Heeeeelllllo there sir, how may I help you today?" Ben greeted with which the man returned with a chuckle.

"Regular coffee would be fine." he replied.

Ben nodded, "Oh! Can I get a name for the order?"

"Hobie."

"Alright, one regular coffee coming up!" as Ben poured the man's drink into a cup another customer walked in, this time a blond girl no older than 16 or 17, "Hello miss!" Ben greeted. _He...certainly is cheerful. _Shirley thought as she attended to other patrons.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Woah, woah, woah...hold up!" Kurumu interrupted, "1) What does this have to do with that...'Shocker' character. And 2) How would you know what your boss was thinking of you right at that moment?" (Kurumu would be great at FanFiction sins.)

"Hey, it's called setting the tone alright? Would you rather I skip to the end and tell you how I got to that moment like a Tarentino film?" Kurumu cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "I didn't think so. So let me tell the story."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After a pretty long day, or it least it felt that way since nobody really came by. Shirley told Ben that he was free to leave for the day and that she was grateful for his help. Ben went through the front doors and ran back through the alleyway he landed in earlier. _Slow day...I wonder if there was a way for me help her out and, admittedly, get me more work. A little selfish, I know, but I have a good reason for it! _he told himself. Ben quickly changed into his suit and began to swing through the city with his close webbed to a wall in an athletic bag. Ben swung up and let himself free fall to the ground before shooting another Web Line to a building at the last minute, "Yo, Spidey! Nice suit!" a jogger yelled out. Not everybody had seen Ben's suit yet, so he still got compliments for something like that. Another thing that people would shout to him: "Spidey, how 'bout that football game?"

"Go Giants!" Ben shouted as he swung by, getting random cheers from people on the street. He had become very active on Twitter sporting the handle @NYC_Crawler.

Swinging through the city Ben to do his typical patrol which included stopping typical thugs, stopping a runaway car and getting a cat out of the tree. Yep, just a typical day. Feeling a bit peckish, Ben, mid swing, let go of his Web Line and decided to do a little walking (this way he didn't just drop right in front of a corner store and potentially scare someone walking out. While walking to a small store he knew he walked past many people who gave him high fives and took selfies with him, "Hey, you better tag me in those!" he shouted out. Ben walked through the front doors of a small convenience store and began looking around for something light to eat like chips or something similar, as well as a chocolate milk. As he brought his things up to the counter to get rung up he and the cashier heard some crashing. Apparently a kid, likely in high school or middle school knocked over some boxes that were by the chips.

"Sorry, sorry!" the kid apologized as he began to pick up the boxes. Ben looked to the corner of his lenses as he saw a girl around the same age began to grab different things and stuff them in her jacket before nodding to the boy. _So, these two planned this, huh? Smart girl wearing a hat to hide her face. _He chuckled lightly, _Gotta admit, didn't think any kid, let alone even a girl, would have the balls to shoplift in front of Spider-Man. Like, do they know who I am? _The boy began walking to the door and the girl began walking right past Spider-Man before he grabbed her arm.

"Hey!" the girl cried out, "What do you think you're doing?" the boy's eyes widened at the realization that they had been caught and he began to rush to the door before Spidey shot a Web Line and caught the kid by his side before he could run out the door. Ben then pulled the boy by him and he stared down the two kids.

"Okay," he said menacingly with his arms crossed, "spill. Everything, on the counter. Now." the girl began taking the stuff out of her jacket and the boy pulled a large bottle of some random off brand alcoholic drink. Spidey then gripped the two by the shoulders, "Do you have any idea what you two were doing?" the girl rolled her eyes and the boy looked down, "You two are what? 15? 16? You're practically adults now. I would hope your parents taught you right from wrong, did they teach you right from wrong...Francis?" he asked the boy.

"It's Jake, actually." the boy muttered.

"Don't tell him your name, dumbass." the girl groaned.

Spidey looked at the girl and back to the boy, "You two related?" the boy shook his head, "You classmates?" no response, "Childhood friends, is she 'the girl next door'?" the boy gulped. _Bingo. _"You know, I know you want to impress the girl you like...but...this," he gestured to everything that the kids were trying to steal, "is not the way to do it."

"You're just a vigilante, don't lecture us on right from wrong!" the girl blurted out. Spidey looked at her and chuckled.

"I'm a vigilante because I do what cops can't do, like take down high powered villains. Have you two seen what I do to people with super powers?" the both shook their head, "Well-"

**!BOOM!**

A loud explosion was heard just down the road inside a bank. "I gotta handle that." Spidey webbed the kids to the counter and they found they couldn't move, "I'm not done with you yet, shop keep, keep that stuff behind the counter 'till I get back!" Ben shot a Web Line and launched out of the store towards the commotion. People were screaming and running in fear from the bank and gunfire was heard from inside the bank. _That's not good. _Ben thought. He landed on the wall just outside the bank, he then poked his head down so he could peer inside from the top of the door.

"Hurry up you morons! I wanna get this job done quick. Rumor is Spider-Man is back in town and I would rather not have to deal with that red spandex wearing freak!" Shocker. A classic of Spider-Man's villains. His name comes from his ability to launch out shockwaves from his hands due to the specialized gauntlets he created. But his name could be misleading because his suit looks insulated and is yellow...so he often gets mistaken as Electro in different papers in New York...yeah, not something he took too kindly. "You, go man the door!"

"Yes sir!" one of the goons came rushing to the front door and Ben quickly popped his head back up so he wouldn't be spotted. _Well this is annoying. __There wasn't even a skylight opening__!_ Ben looked around to make some sort of distraction when he saw a quarter on the ground. _Oh...yeah, I can make this work. _Stealthily grabbing the quarter, Spidey held it between his thumb and middle finger, he then brought his arm back so that his hand was by his face and his elbow was pointing towards the gunman. _Here it goes._ he then snapped his finger and watched as the quarter flew at an amazing speed.

The plan was for the quarter to hit the guy and have him come investigate in the direction the quarter came from...the end result was that Ben had snapped the quarter with such force, that when it connected to the man's skull he fell unconcious. Ben held his hand to his mouth in pure astonishment. "Oh my God, did I kill him?" Ben felt for the man's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, good. He's only concussed." _Note to self, scale back the Spidey Snap. _

Ben quickly pulled the man's body away from the doorway and placed him against the wall and webbed him to it. "Okay, now to do my business." Ben shot a Web Line to the ceiling of the bank and zipped himself to the top and surveyed the area. He felt a violent shaking of the building and saw the men helping Shocker stumble around trying to keep their balance. _Great, he's already inside the vault. _Ben did a quick once over and nodded, _No hostages? Okay, let's go. _He dropped from the ceiling and landed right in front of a gunman, "HI!" he called out before shooting a Web Line to the ceiling, pulling down and attaching that line to the gunman with a Web Bullet he shot from his other wrist, "Remember, be safe on your bungee jump!" the man immediately flew off his feet and began to dangle in the air. "YIPE!" Ben shouted as he began to dodge gunfire.

"Boss! It's the Webslinger!" a mook shouted out, "I think he knows you're--AAAGHH!!"

"UGH!" Shocker groaned as he threw bags of bills at one of his other lackeys to take back to the van they showed in, "Idiots! You can never find good help these days."

"What about-" the mook began to ask before Shocker cut him off.

"Especially you! What the hell are you doing here? Go get Spider-Man!" The mook picked up his gun and ran towards the door to confront Spider-Man, but as soon as he walked out the door he was tripped by the vigilante who stood just off to the side.

Spidey stared at the downed man with his arms crossed. The mook stared back, he hadn't encountered the vigilante before but he was told the man seemed to tower others, he could see why (Ben is in no way tall by any means, in fact, he is only 5'9" or roughly 175 cm. the mook is just on the ground. It's a perspective thing.) the mook gulped as he struggled to find his gun. "Oh shit man, is this what you're looking for?" Spidey picked up the gun and handed it to the mook, "Yeah, you took a bit of a fall, here let me help you up." Ben grabbed the mook and brought him to his feet he then dusted off the man's shoulders before giving him the gun. "Better?" he asked.

"Yeah, much. Thank you." the mook raised his weapon and pointed it at Spidey's head.

"Woah, woah, woah! Time out!" the mook stopped and Spidey sighed, "You have to cock it." Spidey cocked the man's gun and loaded a bullet into chamber, he then also stealthily removed the magazine from the gun. "Okay, now shoot." the mook pulled the trigger, but the gun clicked like it was empty. "Ah!" Spidey reached behind the goon's ear and pulled a bullet out from behind it, "Here it is, It must have transported when I cocked it."

"Woaaaaaah." the mook said in astonishment, "That's amazing!"

"Thank you, we like to have fun here." Spidey said with a bow, "Now for my next trick I'm gonna stick you to the wall!" Spidey then picked up the mook and webbed him against the wall, "Hey, thanks for cooperating."

"No, no. That bullet trick was really impressive." the mook replied, "Ha ha...I am so screwed in jail."

Ben went around the corner and narrowly dodged a punch from the Shocker, "OH SHIT!"

"Spider-Man, I knew I was going to see you eventually, but I was kinda hoping the rumors were true and that you just gave up." Shocker cracked his neck a few times and rolled his shoulder.

"Sho-ha-ha-ha-ker!" Spidey laughed, "Voice is sounding raspy these days, you kinda sound like Jim Cummings, but like, Pete from Mickey Mouse Jim Cummings."

"You'll be eating those words like a fistful of gravel." Shocker shot back.

"It sounds like you beat me to it, you're getting close to Steve Blum levels of gravel."

Shocker clenched his fists, "Same old Spider-Man, an annoying bug with annoying jokes!" Shocker shot both hands forward to release his shockwaves, but instead found his hands webbed together. Shocker was a little _shocked _(heh heh).

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"BOO!" Yukari complained as she fake gagged, "That stupid joke damn near killed me."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Shocker yelled in pain as the shockwave that was supposed to come from his hands built up and sent the shock through his body. "Yeah, and you have stayed the same too." Ben mocked, "Make big talk, load up your shock braces, take an overly long time to load up and BOOM! You fire them at me. But I know that with all that power to backfire that, even with your new suit, it will hurt...like a bitch."

"You...damned bug!"

"Look, your arms are shaking!" Ben taunted, "It's okay, I have that effect on girls. Woman go crazy for me you see." Ben began to stretch and roll his shoulders, "Tell you what, I'm feeling kinda tired right now, annnnnd I need to make a point so I'll easy on ya."

Shocker groaned in annoyance, "You think that you're so clever don't you wall crawler, just know that everytime you take me down I get out and I will continue to do so."

Shocker loaded up his arms again and was about to launch his shockwaves again, and again, Ben jumped out of the way while simultaneously webbing Shocker's hands together, rinse and repeat steps 1-3 three more times and you have yourself a boss fight (**Ultimate Spider-Man...it was the Ultimate Spider-Man Shocker boss fight--Nerd****.**) Shocker collapsed to the ground, utterly baffled to how easily Spider-Man defeated him. _How? He didn't even throw a punch!_ Shocker though in embarrassment. "Oops!" Spidey said with a shrug as he stomped on Shocker's wrist and broke one of his shockwave gauntlets, "My bad. OOPS!" Spidey said again as he stomped and broke the other gauntlet followed by kicking Shocker in the gut, "Sorry, that time my foot slipped." Ben left the bank with Shocker in hand.

"What are you gonna do Wall Crawler? Hand me over yourself? Take me to Riker's?" Shocker asked.

"No, I have a point to make." Spidey replied.

Ben led Shocker outside and began to walk past police officers, "Spider-Man, we'll take care of this from here."

"Sure, sure. The others are inside, I just need to teach a quick lesson." Spidey dragged Shocker down the street back to the corner store. The bell rung and he threw Shocker on the ground.

"Easy!" Shocker complained.

The teens looked at Shocker then to Spider-Man then back to Shocker and finally back at Spider-Man, "So?" the girl responded giving a questioning gaze, "What's this?"

"This," Spidey gestured, "is what I can do to people with super powers." he reached down and picked up Shocker's hand.

"What?" Shocker asked, "Are you gonna--AAGGGGHHHHHH!!" he cried in pain as Spidey snapped one of his fingers backwards, "You son of a bitch!" Ben then grabbed the back of Shocker's mask and lifted his head before slamming his face into the ground, knocking him out.

"If I catch you kids stealing from any store ever again...I will do that." Ben warned.

"You can't do that!" the girl replied.

"I'm a vigilante, not a cop. I'm already breaking the law, may as well teach some lessons while I do it."

"Sarah," the boy whispered, "Maybe we should just listen, I mean...he's Spider-Man." the girl groaned.

"Tell you what." Ben brought out a debit card and the girl tried to get a look at the name, "It won't be on there, this is a preloaded Mastercard that I reload with cash once a week. My name won't be on it." Ben cleared his throat, "I'll get the stuff you were going to take and pay for it (save for the alcohol)."

"Wait...seriously?" the girl asked, "What's the catch?" she couldn't tell but under the mask Ben was smiling. In a matter of minutes the two teens were no longer webbed to the counter but were now webbed together hand-in-hand. In each of their hands was a plastic bag of the things they tried to steal. Spidey patted them on the back and sent them on their way, the girl looked back and he gave her a thumbs up.

"You think that was a good idea," the clerk asked, "What if they just try it again?"

Spidey looked at the clerk and cocked a lens in confusion, "Then I'll break her fingers, what was so hard to understand about that?" Spidey lifted his mask above his nose and began to drink a Coca-cola slushie. He then lifted up Shocker with one arm and began to drag him out of the store.

"Wait, you were serious?"

"Sometimes you gotta teach kids a lesson." Spidey replied, "Personally, I blame the parents, but economic class and general surroundings effect that as well. She'll be fine though, that boyfriend of hers, or whatever the hell he is, has a good head on his shoulders so hopefully he'll help her lead a better life."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Several days later Spider-Man was swinging past Midtown and saw the girl laughing and talking with the boy. He stopped on a street lamp to check in on them. The girl looked up and gasped in surprise followed by a wave and then her giving him the bird. The boy gave him a thumbs up. Both of them follow him on twitter now, he even has a group DM with the two. They met up a few weeks after and Spidey bought them lunch.

Shocker was in jail for a while...then he broke out and Ben stopped him again. _Same old, same old. _Ben thought.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Wait..." Mizore questioned at the end of the story, "What was the end moral?"

"I don't know? Parents should discipline their kids?" Ben shrugged, "Put your brats in time out, give them a smack on the back of the head every once in a while. Actions have consequences." Ben shrugged.

**_Wow, a real Ernest Hemingway you are. _**'Inner' Moka joked.

"Oh shut the fuck up."

**End.**

**A/N: This is...very delayed.**

**I'm sorry. See, I meant to have this out weeks ago, in fact it has been 90% done for like two weeks buuuuuut...See, I only had a short amount of summer left and I really wanted to enjoy it. So I spent that time playing games, watching anime, and reading manga. I started JoJo and am on Stardust Crusaders, it is pretty solid. I finished a manga the other day...very disappointed, not because it didn't answer one of the key questions that plagued the manga but because the ending felt so...u deserved, like it came out of nowhere.**

**I've been playing the Wolfenstein games. I played New Order and Old Blood which were super solid, but New Colossus is bullshit. This isn't because of some "SJW" crap that people complained about at launch (though I will admit, the fact that the game talks about nazis invading the United States and it was like a year after Trump was elected...it didn't look good) but my problem is that the difficulty spike is so god damned high from the last game. There is a point when you are in the center of this large room with no cover and one of the weaker weapons, you then have to fight waves of enemies in this big open room which is Wolfenstein's weakest point because they can get stupid pot shots on you and you can't hit them. I actually had to switch it from I Am Death Incarnate to like two levels down. Anyways, it's alright but pretty bullshit for the most part. Right now I'm just trying to relax by playing Forza, racing sports cars is surprisingly relaxing.**

**Anyways, I'm back in classes now...in the second week of August...so maybe I'll be more productive, but I could also be less frequent than usual because I have to do a bunch of reading and of course essays and shit. Point is...if I become less frequent you know why, but I'm not stopping I will continue these stories, like I have ideas for a spin off Batman Beyond style about Ben's kid and...AHHH, I won't explain, if you want to know PM me.**

**Laters guys. **


	4. Update

**What's been going on:**

**I've been going to school. Sorry I didn't say anything prior, but truth be told, I completely underestimated how much time School is taking from me. That isn't to say I'm not around though. I post constantly on Twitter, you guys can always PM/DM me. If you wanna play Xbox, I've been playing Destiny 2 lately my GT is EaZyOnZaEyEz117.**

**But yeah, that's the situation right now, lot of time has been chewed up because of school. I'm only 1,000 words into the next chapter of my Neo and Peter story and haven't touched the Ben story for a while. I just wanted to let you guys know that I did not give up, I simply don't have enough free time at the moment. Thanks for understanding. **


	5. Pride and Accomplishment

**Pride and Accomplishment**

* * *

**Kokoa**

* * *

Kokoa Shuzen, the younger half-sister to Moka Akashiya walked to her class. She was still mulling over her defeat to Ben Reilly, the American meta-human. _Stupid American. Who the hell does he think he is? Treating me like that!_ she thought. _He is nothing compared to the might of a vampire. Especially...her._ Kokoa smiled as she thought about her older sister in her true form. She believed that vampires were superior not because of their strength but also because of the beauty and elegance they show when in the presence of others. No one shone brighter in her eyes than her sister who seemed to exemplify all of these qualities without falter. Kokoa let out satisfied sigh as the thought of her sister went through her head, but just as quickly her expression turned into a frown as she stopped and looked in the distance and saw what her sister had become. A dainty, flowery, non-fighter. An utter disgrace to vampires.

The sight she was seeing was Moka in her new 'Outer' form, leaning close to Tsukune Aono. The boy who's blood tastes good. "Tsukune..." Moka said with a smile and blush on her face.

"Moka-san..." Tsukune replied as the two got closer. Kokoa could practically see the cutesy pink filter fill in behind them. Tsukune turned his head, "W-We can't Moka-san...not in a place like this. Someone may see us."

Moka got closer and nearly pressed her body against his, "But...my whole body is burning up! I-I can't endure it anymore!" she got closer and closer to Tsukune as if the two would kiss. Kokoa was practically throwing up. "Meal time!" Moka said with a smile as she bit into Tsukune's neck.

_My beloved older sister...has turned into this._ Kokoa thought in disgust. _What an absolute joke!_ Tsukune tried to get Moka off him, but he felt his strength leave his body, "Owwwww! You're drinking too much this morning, Moka!" Tsukune finally pushed away, but Moka only followed to drink more of his blood. _Big sis..._ Kokoa continued to look on at the two, _There isn't a trace of your former dignity or strength. You're just so enamored with the guy who's blood tastes good. What happened?_

Suddenly Kokoa's thoughts were cut off when the succubus, Kurumu, burst onto the scene from out of nowhere and bitch-slapped Moka ten feet backward, "You've been drinking Tsukune's blood again haven't you?!" Kurumu shouted out in anger. She pulled Tsukune closer to her and smothered his face with her breasts as she patted his head, "Geez...I told you Tsukune isn't breakfast!"

_Woah, what the hell?_ Kokoa thought in confusion. She held her mouth shut with the palm of her hand, _How the hell could that bimbo do that to my sister?_ Suddenly a large grin stretched across Kokoa's face, _Hehehe, surely with what she did my sister will snap! Oh, I can't wait. The writing on her head stone will be priceless! 'Here lies Succubus Bimbo. Slaughtered by a Vampire!' HA!_ Kokoa's heart rate increased as she thought more about how her sister will jump upwards and demolish the lesser monster in front of her. _She'll find out just how fearsome my sister can be when she gets serious._ Moka got up from the ground and wiped the dirt off her uniform with a smile across her face_._ But instead of beating the living hell out of Kurumu, Moka and her got in a cat fight. They weren't exactly throwing punches and they weren't really hitting each other, just doing a weird up and down motion with their arms. Kokoa slouched her shoulders and let out a sigh louder than her last one, _And just like that, the figure of her in my heart comes crumbling down._ this happened again when Mizore entered the fray and again when Yukari came. No fighting, just the awkward arm movement. "Will you all just fight to the death already!?" Kokoa shouted out, alerting the others to her presence.

Moka blinked and looked at her sister, "Oh, Kokoa what are you doing?" she asked with a smile.

Kokoa grinded her teeth and stomped off in annoyance, "Screw you! You're nothing but a dope, sis!"

The group watched as Kokoa stomped away in frustration, "Wait, Moka," Tsukune stopped, "have you and Kokoa still not made up? Shouldn't you be getting along now that your together again?"

Moka gulped and forced a smile, "No we should but...I-I'm sure she'll come around." Moka continued her way to class and the others followed.

Yukari walked up behind Tsukune and tugged on his sleeve to gain attention, "Maybe leave them alone, Tsukune." she whispered with a concerned look, "Butting into their sibling rivalry won't solve anything. Besides, if anyone actually can relate and help them in some way...well, it'd be Ben." Yukari tapped her head, "Remember, Ben has actually been through a situation similar to this before. You're an only child." Tsukune frowned, he didn't want to admit it, but he knew Yukari was right.

* * *

**Ben**

* * *

Ben sat at his desk trying his best to finish a commission so that he could get some spending cash for the next week or so. "God, I hate drawing for people who have vore fetishes but they pay soooo much money!" Ben was having a mental breakdown, "On one hand I get paid a bunch of money, on the other hand I lose more and more of my innocence!" _But on the other hand you get paid!_ Dreamqueen chimed in. Ben slammed his fist into the table, "FUCK, YOU'RE RIGHT!" he laughed maniacally as he added shading to his abomination, holding in his disgust he powered through and finished the piece. "Fourty dollars, here I come!" _Fourty __dollars?_ Dreamqueen groaned, _No wonder you damn near cry yourself to sleep every night._ Ben continued to laugh like a mad man. He took in a deep breath before looking at the clock, "OH SHIT!" Ben quickly washed up before dashing out the door forgetting his blazer.

Dreamqueen made herself physical and sat at Ben's desk looking at his assortment of degenerate drawings. She sighed and placed her hand to her face, "My, my. This can't be good for a young boy. I mean, if he gets too used to things like this he won't be able to release his urges in a healthy manner...well, I suppose having a succubus help him isn't healthy either, but lesser of two evils I suppose. Hmm?" she looked at a sketch pad that was in a drawer in his desk. It was full of different super hero type characters striking dynamic poses, but every few pages there was a rejection letter. "Still couldn't get the job, huh?" she sighed. She knew Ben wanted to do a lot more. He hated being restricted to just an NSFW artist, he actually wanted to be respected and get work doing comics, but due to the industry no company would pick him up. Unfortunately that is just the facts he has to face.

* * *

Ben rushed to his classes and nearly made it to homeroom when he saw Kokoa stomping somewhere angrily. "Hey, Kokoa!" he called out, "Still miffed about yesterday? Heh."

Kokoa ground her teeth and pointed at him, "YOU!" she shouted, Ben felt the venom hit him dead on. Kokoa stomped over to him, her expression unchanging, "You said that I can fight you anytime, anywhere, right?"

Ben was surprised, he didn't think she'd willingly come to him so quickly. "Well, under the agreed upon stipulations."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Kokoa waved her hands around impatiently, "So will you fight me or not?"

Ben looked her up and down with a cocked eyebrow, "So like...what's up? What's wrong?"

"That's non of your business!" Kokoa had a pouty face and stomped the ground in annoyance, "But if you must know, I'm pissed and I want to blow off some steam." she cracked her knuckles and gave a slight smile, showing off one of her fangs in the process, followed by getting in her fighting stance. Ben took one look at her stance and snorted, "What? What!? You think you're better than me?"

"Can I...Can I fix something real quick?" Ben asked. He walked over to the vampire and grabbed one of her hands which led her to instinctively jerk her arm away and smack Ben in the head.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Kokoa cried out with a light blush on her face, "Holding my hand." she grumbled, "Gross, ecchi, pervert!" Ben rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm again, "No, stop! Creep!"

"Shut up. I'm trying to help you." Ben explained as he balled her left hand into a fist and put it in front of her, "If I have to deal with you and that god awful stance again I'm going to have a brain aneurysm." Kokoa frowned, "You're stance sucks, now work with me here." Ben got behind Kokoa and used his body to guide hers. _He's touching me! And he's really close! _Kokoa thought, partly with anger and partly with embarrassment. Ben used his foot and kicked Kokoa's right foot back and pushed her left foot forward, "You're too flat." Ben mentioned.

"EXCUSE ME?" Kokoa broke out of Ben's grasp and wrapped her arms across her chest, "I...I don't think you have any right to talk about my appearance you...you...Yankee!"

"I'm a Mets fan, actually. And I meant your feet, not your chest." Ben scoffed, "Somebody's self concious." Kokoa pouted. "Look, the stance you had was just really weak, I want to help you get one that will benefit you in a fight."

Kokoa crossed her arms and shook head defiantly, "And why would I listen to you? A lowly human. The pathetic scum of the food chain, lesser than that of dogs!"

"If my species is so bad, how come mine is thriving and vampires are practically endangered?" Ben asked with a deadpan expression. Kokoa's eyes widened slightly, she clearly wasn't prepared for a follow up that went against what she said. Ben sighed, "Fine. Then don't listen to me. Are we going to fight or not?" Kokoa smirked, and despite what she said only thirty seconds ago, she got into the stance Ben was showing her. One hand out in front and one closer to her face with her legs staggered slightly. She may as well be a pro boxer. Ben let out a quick breath before he tossed his backback in the air and webbed it against the wall. He then rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie. "Let's rock, baby." Kokoa dashed forward and her first attack was to throw a hook, which Ben ducked under and slid to her side sending a simple jab at her lung. Kokoa flinched in pain, _That bastard actually hit me really hard. _Kokoa swung her hand around like she was doing a lariat. Again, Ben dodged and sent a jab to her gut.

"You think...you're hot shit? Huh, human!?" Kokoa taunted a smile adorned on her face, "I have fought my sister time and time again. I am the greatest being to ever walk the earth! I am the mighty vampire, and you are a lowly human who thinks he's a monster." Ben frowned and then sighed, _Okay...time to school her._ Kokoa shot forward and threw several punches all for Ben to dodge them all every time he dodged Ben would throw a massive counter to her gut or lung region. On his last punch Ben made sure to twist his fist in Kokoa's gut. "Blegh!" Kokoa had the wind knocked out of her and nearly threw up, "You...son of a bitch." in anger Kokoa threw a punch at Ben's ribs that were recovering and felt them crack again.

"GUGH!" Ben held back tears as the pain shot throughout the entire left side of his body. His anger boiled and he clenched his teeth as he sent a monstrous right uppercut into Kokoa's diaphragm causing her to lose all breath in her lungs. He then placed one of his legs behind hers and head butted her which knocked her to the ground. As Kokoa lay on the ground trying to desperately catch her breath she felt pressure as Ben pressed down on her chest with his foot. His angry expression stayed for sometime and Kokoa thought the look somewhat resembled her sister's. He then calmed down and let out a long breath, "Pin, I win." he said with a relaxed voice.

"Huh?" Kokoa was confused about what had just occured.

"Knock out, tap out, death, or pin. That's how we'll determine a winner." Ben pointed out as he counted on his fingers, "I pinned you, I won. Fair and square." Kokoa could't believe what had just happened, _I...I lost?_

"No way." Kokoa grumbled, "No way! I don't believe it! I'm a vampire you're a hu-OW!" she stopped when Ben flicked her forehead.

"You know why I won?" Ben asked while clutching his side. No answer was given to him so he responded, "I may not be a vampire, or a monster...but I don't have to out-strength an opponent to beat them. I can do perfectly fine out smarting them." he said tapping his head, "All I had to do was get you to make sloppy mistakes, which you did because you fight like you just flail your arms around hoping to connect. After that I simply knocked you down bit by bit by doing gut punches or lung strikes. Eventually you started to get out of breath, right?" he asked. Kokoa still struggled to breath so he continued, "Right. Then I finished with a massive strike to your diaphragm. You're lucky I held back, if I hadn't I could have stopped your heart." Ben looked at her with an angry expression, "I thought you and I had an agreement that you wouldn't go for my broken ribs. I'm kinda pissed you broke your promise that you kept yesterday."

"All's fair in the heat of battle." Kokoa replied.

"What happened to that Vampiric pride?" Ben asked, "A cheap shot like that...makes you sound like a human."

The accusation made Kokoa shoot upwards, "NO! I'm nothing like you! You're nothing but pathetic trash not a worthy opponent!"

_I think I've got her._ Ben thought with a smirk, "Oh yeah? Try asking Moka, the next time you see her. Even she would want to fight her opponent when he's at his best and not resort to dirty tactics like yourself."

Kokoa growled in annoyance, "Whatever! It doesn't matter!" she began stomping off when she looked back, "Hey!" she called out and Ben looked back to her, "Heal your wounds...and when you do I'll fight you again."

Ben smirked, "Can't wait to beat your ass."

* * *

**After Classes...**

Tsukune, Moka, and Kurumu, gathered in the club room. Except this year it wasn't a typical classroom like the year before, no, now they had been upgraded to a full fledged club room! Ms. Nekonome clasped her hands together and cheered with joy, her tail perking up unintentionally, "Heyyy everyone, check it out! The school finally recognized our club last year and gave us a room!"

"Probably because we were stuck cleaning up the school's messes." Kurumu murmured. Moka elbowed her side. "What? It's true."

Just outside the club Kokoa snuck around following Moka. She flattened herself against the wall and waited for Nekonome to leave. Ms. Nekonome walked out of the club room and turned to Kokoa and smiled, "Oh, hello there." she said, "You're a freshman right? Are you here to check out our club?"

Kokoa froze up slightly, she wasn't expecting to be spoken to, "Um..no I uh...I'm just fixing my shoe is all."

"Oh?" Nekonome's ears drooped slightly, "Well, if you do think about joining be sure and come back later! I'm sure all our members will welcome you with open arms. Especially...OH! Mr. Reilly!" Kokoa turned around to see Ben walking up to the club room.

"What are you doing here?!" Kokoa asked while she pointed at Ben.

Ben cocked his eyebrow, "To sleep with your sister. Why do you think? I'm part of the club, genius." Kokoa growled in annoyance. "I've got this Ms. Nekonome, go ahead and call it a day." Ms. Nekonome smiled and went on her way. "Alright, spill. Why are YOU here?" Ben questioned.

Kokoa crossed her arms, "If you must know I'm here because I want to know why my sister became so wimpy! And I think I figured it out." she laughed, "It's because she's spent all her time with all you lazy morons! If I get her away from you then she'll go back to her regular self."

"Oh my god, you are so stupid it almost hurts." Ben smirked and shook his head, "Whatever." Ben opened the door to see Kurumu, Moka and Tsukune lazing around, _Well...I guess lazy was pretty accurate. _Ben thought. "What's up guys? How's our loser's club doing today?"

"Ahhhh," Tsukune smiled, "Now that we have our own club room we can take it easy."

"Soooo truuuue!" Moka agreed as she yawned.

Kokoa would have kicked over the table if Ben hadn't held her back, "Geez, will you just do something already!?" she complained.

Kurumu yawned, "Oh, it's you. Look I don't know what you're doing here, Kokoa but don't cause any trouble otherwise I'll kick you out."

"Kick me out?" Kokoa asked with an annoyed look, she kicked her foot against the table as if she was some thug, "Yeah, and who's gonna enforce that? Huh? Who?" she suddenly felt her body leave the ground, "Hey! What the--?" Ben had lifted her up by the back of her collar and connected a web strand to her so that she would hang from the ceiling.

"I'll enforce it." Ben stated, "If you thought that little bitch slap I gave you earlier hurt, just wait until I lace my fist with Holy Water and garlic."

**_I'm sorry, what happened? _**Moka's inner self asked.

"If you join me for dinner sometime I'll tell you." Ben replied.

**_Are...are you hitting on me?_**

"Of course not! I haven't even laid a hand on you." Ben tried to hold his laugh in, he apparently really liked that joke.

Kokoa looked at Ben stare at her sister's chest and talk to her the whole time with disgust, "Hey! At least look into her eyes when you talk to her dammit!"

"What? Jealous that if I did the same to you there would be nothing to look at?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU PUNK!" Kokoa began kicking and squirming, "I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

Suddenly the door burst open and young little Yukari came bursting in and short on breath. The surprise caused Kokoa to jump as she was flailing around, the resulting motion led to the web snapping and Kokoa falling to her back. "Guys! Emergency!" Yukari warned, "Big emergency! There's been a terrible incident!" the other members of the club looked at each other and let Yukari say what she had to. Yukari put up a large map and marked out different places with a marker. "They say it's a Phantom Assailant." she said with a gulp, "The culprit is on the run and nobody has been able to identify him." The group stared at the map, even Kokoa seemed to be paying attention to what she was saying, "It looks like he suddenly attacks and injures students when they come by these places." she pointed to the marking she made which Ben recognized as being near the sports shed by the field, near the swim club, near the gardening shed and over by the incinerator. _So he's choosing places that he can either be hidden or where few people go._ Ben thought. "All we know is that twelve people were injured and three people are missing...all the attacks were committed with a bladed weapon." Yukari continued.

"Do we know what kind of monster they are?" Ben asked.

Yukari shook her head, "No, every student said they remained in human form."

Moka sighed, "What a terrible thing to happen, and so early in the year."

Kurumu looked outside the window, seems like a bunch of the student body was bombarding the Protection Committee with questions, Keito was doing her best to keep them calmed down, "There's a massive uproar outside," Kurumu said, "Looks like the Protection Committee is getting blamed for not doing anything."

"They aren't police, they're just students like us." Ben mentioned, "I mean, we do shit all the time but I'm a vigilante." Ben paced the room cupping his chin with his thumb and index finger, "Three missing people you said? What, is he kidnapping people?" Ben asked, "What if they aren't being kidnapped but are being killed and just haven't been found?"

Mizore, who apparently had been hiding underneath the table the whole time, suddenly popped up with her same deadpan expression, "Hey, that sounds like something we could write about." she said softly, "Tsukune, why don't you and I investigate."

"Hey, Mizore! Don't just try to run off with Tsukune!" Kurumu cried out. The two of then tugged at Tsukune by his arms, meanwhile Kokoa studied the map that Yukari set out. _Yeah, you see it too don't you kid?_ Ben thought with a smile, _I knew you weren't bad. You have the intuition of a hero don't you?_

"What is it Kokoa?" Moka asked.

"So, are we just gonna let the guy get away with it?" she asked. The girls stopped bickering and stared in surprise even Ben smiled, _Damn kid, I'm starting to like you._

"Umm..." Moka looked at Kokoa and then to the map, "That's not really the newspaper club's responsibility...Why do you ask?" Ben and Tsukune both glanced at each other with confused looks, **_You can't be serious. We were basically police last year._**

Kokoa frowned, "What is this mark on the map?" she pointed to a spot on the map with with a triangle marking.

Yukari snapped her fingers in realization, "Ah, those are the dungeon ruins." she explained, "Long ago, there was a place where students who committed atrocious crimes like murder at the school or in the human world were locked away. It hasn't been used in ages so it's all ruins. It has been out of commission for a long time, but others say you can still hear the howling of those who've died there so nobody goes near it."

"Pretty sure those were just stories so that guys could bang their girlfriends in the shed that's over there." Ben laughed.

"Plural?" Mizore asked.

"Hey, I try not to get involved unless it's unwanted."

Mizore paused, "You're a good person. I want you to know that."

"Guys, shut up." Kurumu interrupted, "We should be paying attention to what Kokoa said." she smiled, "I mean, who the hell would believe such an idiotic suggestion? Why would he go to a dungeon."

"Actually I would have said the same thing." Ben mumbled.

Kokoa laughed haughtily, "I see, I see. If someone as weak looking as you found the culprit he'd probably take you out too." A realization came to Kokoa's mind and she smiled, "Fine. I see how things are. How about this, big sis and I will crack this case by ourselves." the others were silent they weren't sure what to think.

Ben clicked his tongue, "I think that's an aw--"

"I think that's a good idea." Tsukune blurted out.

Ben turned his head over to his friend, "Tsukune, a quick word with you." Ben and Tsukune both placed an arm over each other's shoulder and turned around "What the fuck are you talking about?" he whispered, "This is a terrible idea, Moka can't fight and Kokoa has no idea how that rosario works."

"I get that, but this is a good chance for them to bond as they are now!" Tsukune replied. Both felt the glares of the girls on them as they discussed, "Uh, just a minute." Tsukune said with a smile as he and Ben looked at the girls. "Besides, you saw that, right? Kokoa wants to do the right thing and she wants to be with Moka. This is the only shot Moka will have to reconnect with her." Ben squinted his eyes, it was clear he still didn't agree, "Okay, how about this. We'll decide on a match." Tsukune suggested.

"A match? What, you want to play Street Fighter or something?" Ben chuckled.

"No. A fight, first one who gets hit loses." Ben snorted at the suggestion.

"So what? You want to go to the roof or-?"

"No, now." Tsukune then threw his fist and punched Ben in the nose, "I win! Okay, as I said. This is a good idea, we won't get in your way." Kokoa smiled and led Moka out the door.

Ben turned around and placed his hand on Tsukune's shoulder, blood trickling down his nose, "Actions have consequences, Tsukune." Tsukune nodded, "Oh, I didn't mean for them by the way, I meant you. I'm going to get you back for sucker punching me in the nose." Ben groaned and wiped the blood off his face, "Fuck it, I'm gonna do my thing."

"Wait, where are you going?" Kurumu asked, "Are you going to stop them? Because that seems to defeat the point. Also, Kokoa's a vampire, she's more than capable of handling herself."

Ben rolled his eyes, "Have you guys learned nothing?" he asked, "We don't know anything about this guy. He could be a vampire for all we know, and if he's killing others then these girls may be in over their head. Also, I'm a vigilante, I don't really care." he sighed, "But first I need to go talk to someone who may have more information."

"What does that mean?" Yukari asked.

Ben opened the window, "It means I'm a reporter with an informant!" he yelled out as he swung away.

* * *

Kokoa and Moka walked along a cracked pathway that led to the dungeons. The whole time Kokoa had a wide grin and she laughed as they walked, "I'm so happy! I finally stole my sister away from those dopes!" she cheered, "Especially that stupid American. Can you believe it? He actually suggested that he's a worthy enough opponent for you that you would care if you fought him at his strongest or not."

**_Well...yeah. He's a crafty one, I would like to fight him at his strongest the next time I get the chance._** "I...I wouldn't know." Moka said nervously, "Ben is really strong, maybe he can deal with the other me."

"HA! What a joke!" Kokoa laughed.

"Why are you making fun of my friends?" Moka snapped as they reached the entrance to the dungeons, "What have they ever done to you? They have only ever been a help to me!"

"Ha! Friends are pointless big sis." Kokoa opened the entrance to the dungeon with a forceful shove, "We live in completely different worlds than they do. For example, knowing that this would be the place to go!"

**_Ben called it out too._**

"The Phantom Assailant was just attacking people at random," Kokoa continued, "He always had an escape route ready. And those routes converged on this location didn't they? But I easily realized the villain's intentions. And so did you. I could see it in your face." Kokoa smiled, "It was simple right? Because you and I are the same as him! We were all born in the house of villains." Moka only showed a worried expression. "Buy it's bad right now, because you're only strong when you're awakened. I want you to be more reliable than you are now. So let's go! To a much darker place!" Kokoa could only laugh giddily as she and Moka descended the steps to the old dungeon.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

In Headmaster Tenmai Mikogami's office there stood an unusual visitor. He stood at about six-foot two-inches tall. He had short black hair with gray starting to show, the man was in his mid to late forties. He wore a black leather biker's jacket with spikes. He also wore black denim jeans and steal toe boots. "_I understand why you are hear._" the headmaster said to his guest in english. The headmaster pointed to some of his subordinates watching over the room, "Put out a signal, get all the students in the school." he sighed, "This is not how I wanted things to start off. Ruby," he called, "Assist our guest." Ruby, the witch, nodded. "_Now. I hope you don't mind, but I've asked my assistant to help you out on your...bounty. Mr. Blaze._"

"_Yeah, well...If you think it's necessary, but I usually do things on my own._" the man was American. His name: Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider.

**To be continued...****A/N: Awe yeah, I'm back! I didn't mean to make you guys wait but man am I glad I can actually work on other things for a change! ****(That and the COVID situation is keeping my state on quarantine) I hope you guys like the chapter, it isn't massive but I feel it sets up some new situations. And, no, the Ghost Rider won't be long standing. I liked how, in the manga, the people harming the students are like monster terrorists fleeing from the human after some sting. Well, who else would be on their ass than the flaming skull himself? A real one this time too, not Robbie Reyes.**

**Hopefully the next chapter comes out quicker than this one, but I hope you guys enjoy this regardless.**

**OH! Quick Reviews:**

**Doom Eternal: Kicks ass, buy it. If you like fast paced, high octane, badassery then this is the game for you.****Beastars: Was cool, a little jarring at first because the characters are 3D models and not traditional 2D, but I got used to it after a few episodes.**

**Okay, that's it from me. I'll see you next time!**


	6. Pride and Accomplishment Pt 2

**Pride and Accomplishment (Part 2)**

In Headmaster Tenmai Mikogami's office stood Johhny Blaze, The Ghost Rider. He stood at about six-foot two-inches tall. "_I understand why you are hear._" the headmaster said to his guest in english. The headmaster pointed to some of his subordinates watching over the room, "Put out a signal, get all the students in the school." he sighed, "This is not how I wanted things to start off. Ruby," he called, "Assist our guest." Ruby, the witch, nodded. "_Now. I hope you don't mind, but I've asked my assistant to help you out on your...bounty. Mr. Blaze._"

"_Yeah, well...If you think it's necessary, but I usually do things on my own._" Johnny said while rubbing the back of his head. "_Quick question, do you have any water?_" Ruby came over with a pitcher of water and poured him a glass. Johnny nodded and took the whole pitcher off the tray, "Ari-gato." Ruby cringed at the forced use of Japanese. "_Ahhh..._" Johnny smacked his lips, "_I don't mind help or anything. But I want you to realize that I can't understand __her __moon speak._"

The Headmaster held his chin and frowned, "_I'm sorry Mr. Blaze, but I don't think I have--"_

"Stop him!" a voice cried out as several doors were kicked open. Finally the door to the Headmaster's office was kicked open with Ben Reilly running in while several faculty members tried to stop him.

"Headmaster, headmaster, headmaster!" he yelled out before shaking the adults off him, "Sorry for bursting in like this." _Well...I suppose there is ONE person who can help._ The Headmaster grinned. "Hey! I need to know what you know about this 'Phantom Assailant'." Ben said with quotes, "And furthermore, I am letting you know ahead of time that whatever you are gonna do to the guy is too nice. If I catch him I'm sending his ass to the Ghost Rider!"

"Ahem." Ruby coughed into her hand to gain Ben's attention.

Ben smiled and waved, "Oh hey Ruby!" Ruby pointed to Johnny and Ben cocked an eyebrow in confusion before looking at the other 'human' in the room. "_Oh JESUS_!" Ben shouted out as he jumped back in surprise, "_Oh...What's up, Blaze?_" Ben gave a devil horn to try and have Johnny realize who he was.

Johnny himself cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "_Wait, kid, are you...Spider-Man?_"

"_Under new management._" Ben smiled, "_I'm uh...I'm his brother, Ben._" Ben held out his hand to shake Johnny's but the older man only nodded.

"_Right, right. You're the clone, yeah?_"

Ben grumbled, "_I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that._"

The Headmaster chuckled, "_Well, I suppose I said no typical student could deal with them. But Mr. Reilly and the Newspaper Club are anything but typical._" he smiled, "_If you do not mind, Mr. Blaze, Mr. Reilly can assist you._"

"_Well I was going anyways and uh...I kinda know where they are._" Ben gave a cocky smile.

"_It's the Dungeon, right?_" Johnny asked, causing Ben to slump his shoulders, "_C'mon, kid. This isn't my first rodeo._" Johnny turned to walk out the door and Ben began to follow. The Headmaster nodded and Ruby followed behind them.

"_Oh, Mr. Blaze,_" the Headmaster called out. Johnny stopped and turned his head, "_I must ask that you know the rules. We have a bit of an agreement. You may take care of those you were chasing, but if you...have issues with the faculty I ask you leave that to me._"

Johnny gave some thought to what the headmaster said, "_Don't worry...we have an agreement._" he scratched the back of his head while giving a smirk to The Headmaster _"We have an agreement to only kill really bad people. And these monsters have killed dozens of people. They will face penance...and it will be at our hands."_ As Blaze said as he pointed to himself. With that, Blaze as well as Ben and Ruby walked out of the room.

* * *

Moka and Kokoa walked down the dark stairway. There was little lighting so Kokoa had her bat familiar, Kou, go up ahead of them. "Kou's ultrasonic radar is detecting live entities." Kokoa explained as her bat flew forward. Kou suddenly made a squeaking sound, like he was alerting his master, "Quick sis, put out the lantern. This is probably that Phantom Assailant. We'll have to watch our backs." Moka nodded and put out the lantern and the two relied on what little lighting was left by candles. Moka felt around the walls and cringed as she felt how slimy they felt. Kokoa looked to her sister and saw her more serious expression, _Ah, that's a perfect look for big sis. _"Kou, weapon form!" her familiar transformed itself into a bat with spikes all over the barrel and it landed in Moka's hands, much to her surprise.

"Kyaa!" Moka cried out as the weight of the weapon nearly made her fall over. Moka gulped as she took in what she was holding, "T-This is a-"

"It's a battle sis!" Kokoa interrupted, "You'll attack them by surprise with this and I'll have your back!" Kokoa held her face and smiled at the thought of seeing her sister fight again, "C'mon hurry! I can hear the enemy's footsteps! Kill them while you have the chance!" Kokoa squealed.

"K-Kill them? With...this?" Moka looked the bat up and down and gulped. She got into a ready stance as she began to hear footsteps. They sounded as if they were walking pretty fast. Moka slowly walked around the corner and swung the bat as soon as she saw what looked to be a person, "HIIIYAAAAH!" she cried out as she swung. There was a collision and a cry of pain.

"Yeah, way to go sis!" Kokoa jumped up and down with joy. Moka may have hit someone, but it wasn't one of the assailants. No, instead she hit Tsukune across his face. "Eh..." Kokoa stopped cheering when she realized who her sister had struck, "That voice was kinda...familiar." Kokoa quickly turned on the lantern Moka turned off earlier and both gulped at the sight of Tsukune lying on the floor.

"M-Moka..." he coughed out as blood trickled from his head.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Moka screamed out, "TSUKUNE ARE YOU OKAY?!" **_What a swing! Holy hell, we should join the baseball club._** 'Inner' Moka joked. Moka dropped the bat and collapsed to her knees, "Tsukune I'm so sorry!" she cried.

Tsukune's head spun for a little bit, _Oh wow._ Tsukune thought, his vision trying to readjust, _That was one hell of a hit. I'm...I'm pretty sure that if I didn't have Moka's blood still in me I'd have a concussion or be dead. _Tsukune rubbed his head and laughed, "Ahaha...I think I'm alright." he slowly got up from the small pool of blood on the ground and began to wipe whatever blood was dripping down to his face. "It's my fault really, I got worried because of what Ben was saying and decided to follow you." he smiled, "But I'm glad you two are okay."

"Oh, Tsukune." Moka smiled as she clasped her hands. **_Oh Christ, you're gonna make me sick!_**

Kokoa clenched her teeth in anger and balled her fists, "Why? Why did you have to come?" she asked. Her fists clenched tighter and her knuckles started turning white, "I had things just right. I thought she'd finally come around down here! Then you showed up and big sis goes back to being a weak little girl!" she shouted, "It's definitely your fault! You and that Loser's Club is making my sister a complete failure!"

"Kokoa, that's enough!" Moka said sternly, "You don't understand how--"

"Even though I really loved you." Kokoa interrupted causing Moka to gasp, "The way you became so strong, so beautiful." Kokoa smiled, "You were my ideal, I was so proud of you! But the wimpy big sister you've become is somebody I could never look up to!!!" Kokoa yelled out, sounding almost like a spoiled child.

Moka and Tsukune both sighed, "You know Kokoa," Moka started, "It's not that I..." she stopped mid sentence and held her head in pain. Tsukune looked at her to see what was wrong, but then jolted his head to the side when he heard someone walking towards them. Someone BIG.

Tsukune quickly got on his feet and dashed to Kokoa, "WATCH OUT!" he shouted as he shoulder rammed the vampire out of the way.

"Hey! What the fuck is wrong with--" before Kokoa could finish she saw a massive fist slam into Tsukune's back. The resulting force shot him passed Kokoa and slammed into a wall causing it to crater. Kokoa looked on in surprise, when she looked back she saw what the fist belonged too, a large Minotaur. _Oh crap! It's the enemy!_

"TSUKUNE!!" Moka yelled out. Tsukune was unconscious against the wall with blood splattered all over. _No way..._ Kokoa thought. _I wasn't paying attention. When did this guy sneak up on us? How did he sneak up? No, _she looked over to Tsukune, _he...he saved me? That weak looking man saved me, a vampire? _

Kokoa held her head as she felt like she was having an existential crisis, "I'm a fraud, a disgrace to vampire kind." as she was sulking Kokoa didn't see the Minotaur coming back for her.

"KOKOA, LOOK OUT!!" Moka warned. Before she could react, Kokoa was slammed by the Minotaur with a punch just as strong as the one that hit Tsukune. "KOKOA!" Moka shouted as she saw her sister get knocked down. Moka felt her head throb again and before she knew it she was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

Kokoa looked up and saw a skinny man wearing a dark green and white horizontal striped shirt wielding a knife in his hand. He had messy hair and goatee. _No way, another enemy? _Kokoa thought with a groan, _How? I couldn't even feel his presence. They're too strong and fast to be normal guys. Just who the hell are they?_ "...this guy will be just right for the boss." the man with the striped shirt said. He had a deeper voice but sounded tired. "The boss won't really care for the brat. So you can have her." he smiled to the Minotaur who just laughed in response. The man left with both Moka and Tsukune and the Minotaur approached Kokoa, pulling a sword that was stuck in the stone wall. _Why? How? How did it turn out this way!? _Kokoa thought as tears started to well up, _I just wanted to see my big sis to get stronger...but I'm just..._ Tears dropped from Kokoa's eyes and wet the ground beneath her, "Big sis..." she cried, "Big sis!"

"Well, well." a female voice called out and two pairs of footsteps were heard approaching Kokoa and the Minotaur. "I told you so. You know, I don't know if it's because your a vampire or what, but kids shouldn't be causing so much trouble." Kokoa looked up to see Kurumu and Mizore.

"No!" Kokoa shouted as the two walked up and faced the Minotaur, "It's hopeless you hear! He's no ordinary criminal! He's too much for monsters like you!" the Minotaur tilted its head in curiosity, "You're too weak! Fall back or you'll be killed!" The Minotaur raised his arm and went for a downward slice with the greatsword and Kurumu expertly dodged. As the minster was trying to load up another swing both Kurumu and Mizore got up in its face. Both struck the creature and he flew backwarda with great force knocking him unconscious immediately. Kokoa could only look on in shock

Kurumu looked back and smirked, "Who's weak?" she asked, "We've tried hard to not let anyone see that, it was supposed to be for silencing your big sister some day."

"We underwent anti-Inner-Moka training." Mizore added, "It was pretty fun, like being in a Shounen Battle Manga."

"Vampires aren't the only strong ones!" Kurumu boasted with a wide smile, "Being conceited only causes pain and suffering."

* * *

Deeper in the dungeon Tsukune and Moka lie captured by the enemy, the "Phantom Assailants." The skinny man from ealier rubbed his neck and looked up at the ceiling as the group heard loud crashes and from upstairs. "Getting nnoiiisy up there." another skinny man said he had long black hair a striped button up and a vest to go over it, "It's because you were too violent." he took a long puff from a cigarette he was smoking before blowing out the smoke, "Don't tell me they found us already? Haha. Oh well, guess we'll just have to kill our uninvited guests."

* * *

**About an hour later...**

Tsukune groaned when he opened his eyes, _Where...where am I? _Tsukune looked at the walls covered in stained blood, dust and cobwebs. _This is so weird. My body aches all over. What's going on? _"Oh, you're waking up?" a raspy voice asked, "You're a lot tougher than you look. Though your body is probably aching." Tsukune looked up in surprise to two men, a skinny man with a striped shirt and a slightly less skinny man with shoulder length black hair and a black vest. The man puffed on a cigarette, "Well, even if you're awake you'll be dead soon anyways."

"W-Who are you!?" Tsukune recoiled in pain. Looking to he side he saw Moka lying on the floor unconscious, "MOKA!" Tsukune swallowed a lump in his throat and looked around the room more, _No..._he thought, _It's not just me and Moka, but other students too. _Tsukune remembered what Yukari had said earlier and he had a moment of realization, "Y-Your the Phantom Assailants!"

The man in front of Tsukune didn't seem to amused by the name, "Phantom Assailants?" he asked, "Who's that? Don't lump us together with weird villains, kid." he took another drag from his cigarette and kicked a metal briefcase across the floor to Tsukune, "We're thieves, and first rate ones at that. See, these are the results we achieve." the man opened the case to show Tsukune stacks and stacks of cash with blood covering both the case and the money. _What the? _Tsukune thought, _There's blood all over it, how did they steal it? _"Pretty great right?" the man smiled, "Swiped it from a transportation truck. It was a big heist and we had a bunch of people on our tails." the man exclaimed.

"Some more troublesome than others." the other man mumbled.

Tsukune gulped, _These guys...they're real criminals. We don't have any experience against this! We were searching for a killer not this! _Tsukune continued to look around and then back to the bloodstained case, _At this rate we'll get killed too! We have to get out of here, maybe we can get help._

* * *

Back at the school it was becoming quite hectic. An alarm was ringing throughout the school. The alarm was loud like a air raid horn. There was a clicking over the intercom for throughout the school, _"This is an emergency! This is an emergency! A group of thieves have infiltrated Yokai Academy. They have assaulted multiple students and are now in hiding! For the safety of all students you are to return to your classrooms and await further instructions! I repeat--__" _The message started again as the students returned to their classes, some taking it seriously as they saw some of their friends with cuts on them. Others huffed in annoyance and just treated it as the teachers overreacting.

"What an annoyance." a boy said as he and his friends walked to class and ran into the young witch Yukari, "Watch it brat! Yer goin' the wrong way!"

"Rude." Yukari muttered as she got up from the ground and dusted herself off. Looking around she couldn't find anyone, no Tsukune, Ben, even Kurumu or Mizore. "I don't like this. They could be in trouble." Yukari flailed her arms in the air in frustration, "Dammit what can I do!?"

"Huh, Yukari?" Yukari turned around to see Ruby with Ben and a tall older man.

"Ruby! Ben!" Yukari dove forward and gave Ruby a big hug, "I think my friends are in trouble! Ben, we have to save them!" Ruby seemed confused, "Moka and Kokoa went to search for the Phantom Assailants, I think the others followed!" Ruby turned to Ben with a frown because she realized he was keeping information from her. Ben only rubbed his head nervously.

Ruby sighed, but smiled all the same as she clutched Yukari's shoulder, "Not to worry Yukari. It's because of you, Tsukune and the others that I'm safe. I'll help save them no matter what!" Yukari kept looking back at the man she didn't recognize, and even Ruby could tell Yukari didn't feel comfortable.

"Don't worry," Ben spoke up, "He's scary, but he's chill. He won't hurt you." the man nodded to the witch and the group headed towards the dungeons.

* * *

Kurumu, Mizore and Kokoa continued to walk deeper into the dungeons with just the small lantern as their means of sight. "This dungeon is complicated like a maze. It doesn't help that we're in a hurry too." Kurumu complained as she tried to lead the group, "We can't let an issue like getting lost deter us, we have to find the others." Behind them, hiding in the shadows was a bug like creature that watched their every movement. That creature was the other half of a shikigami, which projected the location of the trio so that the 'Phantom Assailants' could keep an eye on them from where they were holding out with the teens.

"Kaa...this is pretty bad boss." the skinny man with the striped shirt said.

The smoking man groaned in annoyance, "You were too careless and some others followed you here. They are probably friends of that kid." he scratched his chin nervously, "You're telling me those brats were able to defeat the Minotaur guarding the upper level?"

"Seems that way." the other man replied. Tsukune looked on at the projection and swallowed a lump in his throat, _Kurumu, Mizore and Kokoa? No! They'll be in trouble!_ "Should I kill them?" the man asked, "After all, it'd be fun."

"Stop that," his boss said strictly, "If you go you'll leave a mess."

"Well what else are we supposed to do," the man snickered, "I mean you have gynophobia right? You haven't even touched that girl we kidnapped.

The boss took another drag from his cigarette, "What are you talking about? I just have no interest in women. I can kill them if I want." he groaned as he stood up to walk over to Tsukune.

"W-What are you doing?" Tsukune asked as the boss held his hand in front of his face.

"My ability." the man said before a bright light flashed blinding Tsukune for a few seconds. When Tsukune's eye sight returned he looked in front of him but what he didn't see the man. _It...It's me!_ Tsukune thought in astonishment. "Surprised?" the man asked with a smile, "My face looks exactly like yours, right? I can copy a face with my right hand and transfer that look to another face with my left. Think of it as a copy and paste feature." he explained, "When I'm in a bind I just kidnap someone nearby and then copy their faces and escape. With this nobody figures out our true identity. So we're never caught." Tsukune gasped, "Of course the most useful part of power would be assassination." the man smiled, "Just copy the face of a friend of your target, get in close and-" the man clapped loudly in front of Tsukune's face making him jump a little, "easy kill."

Tsukune stared at the projection with wide eyes, "Don't tell me...you're gonna to use my face to..." the man only smiled. He smacked Tsukune's face a couple of times before leaving the room to take care of Tsukune's friends, "NO!" Tsukune shouted before he was socked in his jaw by the other man.

"Shut up, runt. Just sit back and watch the show." Tsukune watched the projection as 'he' met up with the girls.

"No!" Tsukune shouted out from behind the bars, praying, hoping somebody would hear him, "Don't be tricked by him!" Tsukune only recieved another punch to his jaw.

"Just shut up and watch your friends get murdered." the man said with a smile. He grabbed Tsukune's face and forced him to watch as his friends were fooled by the faker. Tsukune watched as Kurumu got closer, and closer and...practically made the man bleed out from her boob hug. The skinny man sighed as he saw his boss lie on the ground with a shocked expression.

"W-What happened?" Tsukune asked.

"Well, it's like I said, the boss is really bad with girls." the skinny man sighed, "He acts all tough, but if he comes face to face with a girl he gets all red. Basically he's just like a kid." the man slumped his shoulders and let out what Tsukune believed to be the longest sigh in existence. _So that means...they're safe! Thank you Kurumu, I'm so glad you're there!_ Tsukune continued to watch as he saw Yukari, Ruby and even Ben show up. _YES! Doubly saved! C'mon Ben, show him what your made of!_ Ben didn't react the way Tsukune thought. Instead Ben just stood around and seemed to...laugh. Even when the faker shoulder rammed Ruby all he did was laugh. _Ben, now is not the time to be screwing around!_

After a series of events the faker was down on the ground. The girls and Ben circled around him and by the sounds of it they had figured out he wasn't who he said he was. Ben threw his hands in the air, apparently he figured it out immediately but waited for everybody else...because apparently he was being a dick about it. "Haha..." Tsukune laughed, "Hahahaha! They did it! They realized he was a fake! As expected of Yukari! (And Ben, even though he didn't say anything)" he mumbled. Tsukune smiled brightly, "It's going to be okay now. Everything should be alright since everyone is there!"

The skinny man frowned and he slowly approached Tsukune and reached for his knife at his hip. "You...Do you really think the boss would lose to those girls, all because his identity was revealed? Don't you underestimate him!" he shouted as he lunged forward with his knife to stab Tsukune. Tsukune froze in terror because he didn't think he was actually going to be attacked. Before the man could harm Tsukune he was shoved to the side when Moka got up and shoulder rammed the man.

**_Hell yeah! Way to not take things lying down! _**her other cheered mentally. "Tsukune...are you alright?"

"MOKA!?" Tsukune shouted out in surprise. "You finally woke up!"

"I've been awake the whole time, Tsukune." Moka explained, "I was just waiting for the right moment." Moka gave a determined face and pointed to her rosario, "Now's our chance to turn the tables, take my rosario off now!"

"Okay! I'm coming!" Tsukune reached his hand out to grab the rosario but stopped when he felt something in his back. Tsukune looked back, as did Moka, to see the skinny man have another arm stretch out from his back and stab Tsukune with the knife.

"Don't...get ahead of yourselves." the man grunted as he slowly got up with more arms being visible from her person, "Are plan was to kill you all from the start." he pulled the knife out of Tsukune's back and Tsukune fell forward, "See that? One down already." as the man stood up he began to transform into his true form.

"Tsukune!" Moka cried out, "No, Tsukune! Please!"

The man laughed, "It's no use!" his voice sounded more monsterish, "I cut all his vital points. He can't be saved anymore." Moka looked up to see the grotesque creature the man really was: a Tsuchigumo (an earth spider). He had grown out an abdomen like a spider did and four extra arms that were striped like his shirt. His head even changed shape slightly so that his jaw split to have four mandibles to allow for his spider fangs to protrude. **_Y_****_ou know, if we had 50 yen for everytime we had to fend off a spider monster while at this school, we'd have 100 yen. Which isn't a lot, but it's still weird that it happened twice. _**Suddenly Moka felt something grip her leg. When she looked down she saw one of the extra arms had gotten hold of her and while another tossed Tsukune, "See this? I have six arms. You wonder why I have so many?" he reached out and grabbed Moka's arms and legs and held her in the air, "I use four for grabbing and two for cutting!" Moka cried out in fear, "Where should I start?" the man reached out, knife in hand and began to slide the blade across her thigh and have it go up.

Behind him, Tsukune began to rise from the ground, his eyes red as the vampiric blood began to flow through him. One of his beads broke and he took a step forward to confront the spider monster when he suddenly felt a boney hand on his shoulder. He turned to be faced to face with the scariest creature he ever encountered. Tsukune stared at the Ghost Rider and his hellish figure. Tsukune in his transformed state may not have a lot of sense, but he knew what fear was, **_"Your friends are that way." _**the rider said as he pointed in the general direction of where Tsukune's friends were. Tsukune looked to Moka, **_"I'll take care of this._****_" _**the rider assured and something about his stare told Tsukune to leave or suffer consequences.

The man laughed as he inched closer and closer to Moka's underwear before he heard what sounded to be an engine revving. Before he and Moka knew what happened his four arms holding Moka were cut off by a flaming chainsaw. "AAAAAAAAAGHHHH!!!" the spider cried out as he looked at his now stumps, "What the fuck? WHAT THE FUUUUUCK!?!"

Moka looked up in horror, "Y-You..." the Rider glanced at her and she felt her heart sink to her stomach. The engine of the chainsaw was still on. Looking at it Moka thought it looked like a normal chainsaw used for sawing up logs, but it had been...hellified. Fire was coming from the chain and the engine looked like a large metal skull with the blade coming out the mouth. The handle looked like a rifle stock with skull etched in the side.

The man was still seething in pain at the loss of his arms as he looked at, "You skeleton ASSHOLE!" he shouted out, "I don't give a damn what you are, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" the spider ran forward and began using his remaining two arms to stab the Rider repeatedly. "Ha ha! HOW'S THAT FEEL, HUH!?!" he finally finished by stabbing the Rider where his stomach would be. The Rider looked down, unamused.

**_"You realize that I'm just a skeleton, right?" _**using his free left arm the Rider reached for the back of his belt to pull out a sawed off double barrel shotgun the glowed a hellish red as fire surrounded the barrels. **_"Besides," _**he poured energy into the gun and the whole thing began to catch fire, **_"It seems you brought knives to a gun fight." _**the Rider fired at one of the spider's legs, causing him to collapse. He screamed in pain but figured he could get one kill out of this, so he cocked his arm back to throw his knife at Moka who was still on the ground watching the ordeal. The Rider quickly lifted his arm and shot off the spider's arm with a single blast.

"AAAAAAAGH!" he cried, "Please...have mercy." tears streamed down his face as the Rider approached him. The Rider crouched so his face was next to the spider's. He didn't do anything and let the flames from his skull singe the man's hair slightly.

**_"No."_** he whispered, sending whatever hope the spider had plummeting out of the sky. The Rider shot his right arm forward and impaled the spider through his stomach with the chainsaw and lifted him up. The Rider stared directly into the spider's eyes, **_"Look into my eyes..."_** he recited, **_"Your soul is STAINED by the blood of the innocent. Men, women, children, it doesn't matter to you...Now you must pay penance. Feel. Their. Pain!"_** the spider screamed and squirmed only getting impaled more through the chainsaw. After about thirty seconds the body finally stopped flailing. The Rider nodded before revving the chainsaw and cut through the spider. The creature was split into two and his body burned before turning to ash.

"Um..." Moka said meekly as the Rider quickly turned to her. She gulped as he approached her and kneeled. The Rider then hovered his hand over Moka's leg as his flames turned blue and covered Moka's injuries. After a few seconds she was healed and never felt a thing. "Y-Your one of the good guys...right?" she asked.

The Rider stood up and looked at the chainsaw and the blood he cause to splatter across the room, **_"Good, bad. I'm the one who brings penance to those that deserve it."_** he looked at Moka one last time as she got to her feet, **_"Let's go, I have another to deal with."_**

**To be continued...**

* * *

~Omake~

* * *

**Easter (kind of) Special!**

Yukari, Tsukune, Mizore and Kurumu stood out in the forest. They had cameras set up for making a film of some sort, with a banner between the trees that said "Join Newspaper Club." Because it is the start of the new school year new students will be entering the academy. Which means that soon the Newspaper Club will have to sit outside with a stall to promote their club on Club Day to try and get new members. But instead of sitting out and giving the same speech over and over Yukari thought it best to film a commercial to promote the club. The two stars? 'Inner' Moka and Ben Reilly, some of the most well known members. Moka for being bodacious, and Ben for being American.

However there was a catch. "Okay, I'm here for this stupid commercial." Moka said as she walked onto the 'stage' for the shoot. She was in her 'Inner' form but instead of the school uniform she was wearing a bunny outfit leotard with nylon stockings, black high heals and black bunny ears. _Never before have I felt so humiliated. How the hell did I even get into this? __Ben beat you in a trivia contest which led to you having to deal with the winner's terms._ Her 'Outer' self reminded. _Oh yeah. That asshole! Why'd he pick stupid trivia? He has an IQ of 250! __Because your prideful self said 'I can beat you in anything, Reilly, and don't forget that!' To which he challenged you to 'anything' which you lost._ Moka grumbled.

"Okay!" Yukari shouted. She had her regular outfit on, but she also wore shades and a sash that read 'Director' across it. "Where's bunny number 2!?" she shouted out.

"Bunny number 2?" Moka asked.

"I'm here!" Ben shouted out as he ran, and stumbled, out in the same outfit that Moka was wearing. "Not to worry guys, I'm actually on time today." he laughed.

Moka stared in disbelief, "W-What the fuck?" Ben gave a two fingered salute and Moka's face showed only more confusion, "Are you...crossdressing again?"

"No...?" Ben said with a questioning tone, "I mean, I can't really wear what I did last year because I got too big. Also I'm not wearing makeup. Just the outfit."

"So, yes. You are?"

"Yeah I guess so." Ben said as he slumped his shoulders.

"Quiet!" Yukari shouted, "Lights!" she pointed to Tsukune, "Camera!" she pointed to Kurumu and Mizore, "ACTION!" Ben spoke the lines he was supposed to as if he had feeling, while Moka lazily spoke her lines in resentment. "CUT! Again! Take 2!" this continued several more times and each time Yukari would cut because SOMETHING was wrong. "CUT! BREAK!" she rubbed her temples in frustration, "God people, freaking amateur hour out here.

Moka and Ben stood and stretched. Moka pulled her leotard out slightly to air out her cleavage, "Why is it so hot? It's spring right?" she complained while sweat dripped down her forehead.

"Maybe it's monster global warming." Ben laughed. Ben groaned and decided to joke around to aleve tension, "Hey guys, look!" Ben lifted up one of his legs so it was high in the air, "Does this pose make me look erotic?" he asked as he rested his head against his leg while balancing in high heels. Tsukune got a chuckle out of Ben's antics while Moka kept trying to cool herself. Ben finally relaxed and went to talk to Moka but stopped when he saw her airing out her cleavage again he stopped. He didn't know what it was, but her skin glistening with sweat as it went down to her boobs...he could only stop and stare.

"Okay, LET'S START!" Yukari shouted after she took a bite out of a sandwich, "ACTION." Silence. It lasted for about 30 seconds, "CUT!" Yukaro groaned, "Ben, you missed your cue!"

"Hey." Moka said sternly causing Ben to jerk up in reaction, "Are you focused or what? You've been staring at my chest for five minutes." Ben knew he was being called out. He quickly tried to come up for an excuse and his mind essentially spun a wheel of excuses to use. Unfortunately when the wheel was done spinning it landed in the middle of 'Tell Her You Wanted to Try New Things' and 'Blame Puberty'.

"Um...Uh...I hear masturbation is cool, I may try that later." Ben realized what he said and could only stare at Moka with an expression that said 'I'm an idiot.'

"..."

"..."

"...Ben." Moka finally said with a stern tone.

Ben threw up his hand to stop Moka, "Hold on, I get you're upset but uh...C-Can I get a head start at least?"

Moka squinted, "Start running, bitch." Ben nodded and took off his heels. He then quickly webbed Moka's feet to her heels and took off like a bolt of lightning. Moka grinned and chuckled slightly, "It's rabbit season." she said quietly before dashing off herself, showing to be more than competent enough to run in heels.

"Run, run, run, run." Ben repeated.

"Oh BE~ENNNN" Moka called out as she quickly caught up to the human. Ben could only let out a girly scream as he tried to speed up, but was quickly within arms reach of Moka.

"How the hell did you catch up!?! You're in heels!" he complained.

Moka laughed, "I trained in combat heels until I moved out!"

"Oh Christ." Before Ben knew it Moka dove forward and tackled him. The two rolled along the ground as Moka held one arm back and used her other arm to pull Ben's head to the side, "WAIT, I'M SCARED OF NEEDLES!" before Ben knew it Moka sunk her teeth into his neck and began drinking his blood. Ben's body tensed up for a little bit, but eventually he relaxed.

Moka finally let go and licked her lips, "_Ahhhhhh. That's better. I was feeling a little dehydrated._" she said in english. Moka helped Ben up and the two found shade under a tree.

"_Wait, so you aren't mad?_" Ben asked.

Moka laughed, "_Ben, I'll be honest. You can be a complete moron at times. I thought you were just trying to make a joke._" Ben only rubbed his head nervously, "_But I get it. You're a boy, boys like boobs. Just don't give me cancer with that x-ray vision, okay Superman?_"

Ben chuckled, "_Yeah, my bad._"

Moka adjusted herself picking at the leotard, "_Goddammit. How do you deal with skin tight suits? I can already feel a rash coming on."_ she complained as she tried to adjust the leggings of her inner thigh.

"_Oh, it's easy. You just don't wear underwear._"

"_You're kidding right?_"

"_Well, if you feel really uncomfortable about it you can wear a thong._"

"_So...you wear a thong under your suit?_" Moka asked.

"_...No_."

"_Oh._"

"_Yeah._" a long silenced passed,

"_So. Do you think they'll need us for the shoot?_" Moka asked.

"_Pfft. Who cares! I got what I wanted. Way I see it, we save their lives eight-of-ten times they can do the shoot on their own._" Ben laughed. "_Wanna watch a horror flick? It's pretty gruesome._"

Moka rolled her eyes, "_If it gets me out of that shoot, sure._" Ben helped her up and the two walked to Ben's dorm, "_So what movie?_"

"_You ever watch Evil Dead_?"

"_You should know the answer to that question._"

**A/N: Okay, that's another chapter out! Next chapter should be the end of the Phantom Assailants, so I hope you guys are ready!**

**I hope you guys are enjoying quarantine. Remember to actually get some fresh air from time to time, open a window, go get groceries, that sort of thing. Wash your hands and stay safe.**

**Real Quick Reviews: Resident Evil 3 remake. It's pretty good. More action than 2, but in terms of how it stacks up? Well, it's what happens when you let the B team make a mainline game. I hope that the main team is at least focusing on RE8 now.**

**Okay, remember to Favorite, Follow and Review. PM for questions and have a nice day!**


	7. Pride and Accomplishment pt 3

**Pride and Accomplishment (Part 3)**

* * *

**Thirty Minutes Earlier...**

Ben, Johnny, Ruby and Yukari stood outside the entrance to the dungeon. "Are you sure this is where they are?" Ruby asked. Yukari nodded as she looked at the worn down entrance that had bricks falling off the side. Ben took a look around and felt something was wrong. His spider sense was blaring, but he couldn't pinpoint where the danger was. Of course it's possible the danger was anything inside the building. Really there was too many variables for him to be certain, all he could do is just be on his guard.

"_Hey,_" he said to Johnny, "_I've got this feeling that there will be trouble almost immediately once we enter the dungeon. If you're gonna like...you know, melt your skin off like the end of Raider's just let me know._" The group walked down into the first floor and Johnny tapped Ben's shoulder.

"_You should go_." he said with a serious expression. Ben could already see the skin flaking of Johnny's body. Without saying a word Ben quickly grabbed the two girls and went deeper down into the dungeon. "_Come on out, ugly._" Johnny said as the kids were out of sight, "_Com**e on. Show me what your made of!**_**_" _**his voice began to change and through Zarathos, the spirit that bonded with his body, and because of that he began to speak The All Tongue. The All Tongue is spoken by deities and most demons and allows whomever they are speaking to to understand what they say. The same is also true for whatever language someone speaks to these All Tongue users, they hear it in whatever way they wish to perceive it. Because Johnny is the person Zarathos had been bonded too, whatever he hears is translated to english in his mind.

Johnny heard clacking against the ground, as if large hooves were stomping along the ground. From out of the shadows the Minotaur that Kurumu and Mizore had defeated earlier was back on his feet, "**Hahahahaha!**" he laughed, "**So...you're a Ghost Rider? A human? How pathetic. To think the bossman was scared of a runt like you.**" the Minotaur reached down and picked a chainsaw that he acquired from a tool closet. He snorted out his nose and Johnny, halfway through his transformation, could see the smile on the creature's face as he revved up the chainsaw. "**I'm gonna slice you up into bits!**" the Minotaur yelled with a hearty laugh.

The air seemed to thin as Johnny's transformation into the Rider completed. The heat from his flames intensified and seemed to suck out whatever oxygen was in the dungeon. He looked up with an expression that looked like anger and reached towards his hip to grab his chain which was coiled up like it was Indy's whip. When he grabbed the chain it caught fire and grew a blade at one end and an end loaded weight at the other. The Minotaur laughed as he approached with the chainsaw in hand, "**You think you'll hurt me with a chain? You must be dumber than you look human!**" the Rider did the skeleton equivalent of a smirk and began to spin his chain to load up his attack, but when he sent his arm forward the chain hit the ceiling and killed his attack. "**Ha Ha Ha Ha! I can't believe you thought that your stupid attack would work! Look around you! There isn't enough room for your long range tactics! You'll have to fight me up close.**" the Minotaur smiled as he now rushed forward with the chainsaw.

The Minotaur tried to cut down the Rider, but rolled out of the way to avoid the creature. **"This is annoying.****" **the Rider mumbled. Reaching into his hip he pulled out his double barreled shotgun. As the creature got ready to slash down the Rider quickly lifted up his gun and blasted its chest. The creature staggered giving the Rider chance to throw a punch. The Minotaur growled in annoyance and dashed forward. The Rider wrapped his chain around his arm and lifted it up to block the chainsaw. Sparks flew as metal clashed with metal. The Minotaur tried its best to out-strength the Rider, but he proved to be sturdier than he let on. The Rider fired at the Minotaur's torso to make it stagger again. The Rider, seeing an opening, rolled between the Minotaur's legs and then wrapped his chain around its neck. The Minotaur struggled to break free which only helped the Rider. Focusing his energy, the Rider super-heated the chain and pulled back. The Minotaur screamed in pain as the chain slowly melted through his neck, never bleeding out as the heat cauterized the flesh as it moved. Finally, once he hit the spinal cord, the Rider gave one final yank of his chain and fully decapitated the creature, its body collapsing almost immediately.

The Rider hummed as he looked at his chain, he then looked at the chainsaw on the ground. Wrapping his chain around his torso the Rider picked up the chainsaw. Channeling his hellish energy the chainsaw began to transform, the metal bending to form a new design and the handle extending more. The Rider looked at his new close range weapon and nodded approvingly as he revved its engine a few times. **"Groovy."**

* * *

Kokoa, Kurumu, and Mizore continued walking through the dungeon. They had gotten into a lower level, thanks to Kurumu leading. However, it also seemed as if they were no closer to Tsukune than they were earlier. "Hey," Mizore started in her cool tone, "It's pretty weird right? I mean, we've been walking for awhile, yet it feels like we're no closer to finding Tsukune."

Kokoa nodded with a smirk plastered across her face, "Speaking of which, haven't we been walking around in circles?" she asked while she glanced at Kurumu several times, "Heh, just as I thought..." Kokoa quickly grabbed Kurumu's arm and began pulling, "Alright, you're incompetent, time for a change of leaders!"

"What are you talking about?" Kurumu argued, "I can find Tsukune just fine!"

"Be quiet, you have no sense of direction." Kurumu added with her cool demeanor. The three girls argued over who should be the leader and whether they were competent or not.

Kurumu finally shook out of both of the girl's and smacked both of them on the head, "Alright stop!" she adjusted her clothes, repositioned her bra, and moved the hair out of her eyes, "I'm the one who got us this far right?" she asked looking at the other two girls, "We may be a little lost but we don't exactly have a map or adequate lighting. Regardless of this we will find Tsukune, I promise if you follow me I will lead you on the path of righteousness! We will become the heroes we sought out to be and we'll get Tsukune for ourselves!" she fist pumped in determination.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kokoa asked after about a minute of silence.

Even Mizore cocked an eyebrow, "Haven't you only like...led us down a flight of stairs?" she asked.

Kurumu stomped her foot and gave a pouty face, "Ooooooh, you guys are so mean!"

Suddenly the trio stopped when they heard footsteps approaching them. They stood at the ready for a fight but relaxed a little when they saw Tsukune's frame emerge from the darkness, "Oh, everyone you came all this way to save me?" he asked with a smile as he walked up to the girls. Now, this should go without saying, but this wasn't actually Tsukune. No, this was actually the boss of the 'Phantom Assailants', a monster with a copy ability. _Perfect. I've got all three of them right where I want them. _he thought with a smile. "Don't worry," he reassured, "I've already defeated all the enemies."

Kokoa stared in astonishment, _No way, this guy?_ she thought, _How could a twig like this guy beat all the enemies? _"Tsukune!" Kurumu called out with a wide smile. She began to run towards 'Tsukune' with tears of joy flowing from her face, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

'Tsukune' chuckled, "I'm perfectly fine. Why wouldn't I be?" as Kurumu got closer his grin got wider, _Yes that's right_, he thought, _They don't suspect a thing. This will be too easy. Hell, even I'm a little scared of my ability! You pretend to be the person these people have known their whole lives, what if one of my kind decided to be that person for the rest of their life? That's fucked right? What if I did that? What if I became this kid for the rest of my life?_ the faker then thought of all the money he had back where his partner was holding the students, _Haha, oh yeah! I wouldn't be a rich thief if I did!_ The faker watched as Kurumu came closer, _That's right...get closer...closer..._ Kurumu then dove chest first at 'Tsukune's face and spun him around while she squeezed tightly, _TOO CLOSE! TOO CLOSE! _

"Oh Tsukune, I was sooooo worried!" Kurumu cried out while she pet 'Tsukune's' head. _Woah, woah, WOAH! _the faker thought, _What is this? This softness? This feeling I've wanted for so long?_ The blood from his body quickly rushed to his head and practically squirt out his nose as Kurumu removed his face from her chest, "Ehh? Tsukune, are you alright!?" she let go and 'Tsukune' fell backwards onto his back and just lie still in astonishment. _Wait a minute...I can't let this get to me. They're just boobs! It's nothing to get worked up about!_ he thought.

"Tsukune!" a new voice called out, "There you guys are, is everyone okay?" the others looked up to see Yukari, Ruby and Ben catch up with them. _Wait there's more of them? _The faker looked at Ben and had a gut feeling that he would be trouble. The Faker and Ben met eyes and the Faker thought his disguise had been seen through.

"Oh, hey Tsukune." Ben greeted with a slight smile, "You okay? You look like you've lost a lot of blood." the Faker laughed like he was a fish who was able to take the bait and avoid the hook, _No way! I thought for sure he saw something! This is perfect!_

"Oh...you know just, um, getting over the shock of beating the assailants." 'Tsukune' said with a nervous laugh.

Ben looked down at the 'Tsukune's wrist, looking for the holy lock, but couldn't. _What a fucking idiot. _Ben thought with a smirk, _He has to know I've seen through his shoddy disguise by now, right? _Ben stealthily tapped Yukari's shoulder then he knocked her hat down.

"Hey! What the hell!?" Yukari asked with a pout. She bent down to pick up her hat, "Just because you and I are friends doesn't mean you can bully me!"

Ben rolled his eyes and whispered in English in hopes that Yukari would pick up on it (Yukari being the editor she usually works with him to translate his English pieces into Japanese). "_The...Wrist..._" Ben spoke slowly. Yukari looked at him with a confused expression.

"_Wrist?_" Yukari replied in a very engrish sounding way. Ben then subtlely removed his right Web Shooter to rub his arm and put it back on. Then while glancing at Yukari he adjusted his Web Shooter and tapped it to give Yukari a hint. "Wait..." Yukari looked back to Tsukune and gasped, "Where's your Holy Lock?" she asked. The others looked at Tsukune, Kokoa was confused as she didn't understand what Yukari meant, "Everyone get away from him! That's not Tsukune!"

"What are you talking about, Yukari?" Kurumu asked.

"THE LOCK, YOU COW!" Yukari seethed, "Tsukune still has Moka's vampiric blood flowing in his body, if he were to remove the lock he would turn into a ghoul again, remember? Tsukune can't live without the lock!" the others stood in silence except for Ben who was laughing at Yukari calling Kurumu a cow.

"Hehehe..." Ben finished his laughter as he stared with a cocky grin at the fake, "So...what did happen to Tsukune and Moka. OH and do please answer correctly, otherwise you may regret your entire existence." Ben's smile had quickly turned into a scornful expression that he removed by taking some deep breaths, "_Relax, Ben."_ he mumbled to himself. He then quickly regained his cocky smile.

Kurumu stepped forward with tears starting to well up in her eyes, "Where is he?" she asked, venom seeping out of her voice, "Where's Tsukune you faker!?" The Faker smirked as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Stop smiling you prick! Where is Tsukune?! Where are the others?!"

"Ahh," the Faker felt a round his pockets, "Hey guy, you got a light?" he asked Ben. Ben only replied by flipping him off, "Well, your friend...is probably dead." he said matter-of-factly as he put his cigarette back in the pack with an irritated look. "My partner's looking after him, but he's a pretty dangerous guy..." he said as his look changed from Tsukune's face back to his true form, "I mean he's the type to get a kick out of slicing meat with a knife."

"Why can't you villains be like normal people and get a kick out of beating meat instead of cutting it for fun like psychos." Ben interjected, "I mean you guys aren't finding girlfriends either way, so it isn't like anything changes."

The girls laughed at Ben while Kokoa cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "What--? Oh, you're a fucking idiot!" she shouted out with a blush when she realized what he was saying.

The faker was amazed about how calm the teens seemed to be, "Uh...right, but as I was saying...the guy is in charge of killing in our group. He's probably having fun with Tsukune. It's best if you don't see it." The girls were silent but Ben...Ben was laughing, "Hm? What's so funny? Does the thought of your friend dying amuse you?" Ben's laughter got more intense and the girls started to look at him with worried expressions.

"Y-Y-You ah-hahaha-ctually think..that he's dead? HAHA!" Ben laughed, "NEWSFLASH, JACKASS if Moka is with him, not only is Tsukune alive and well, but your friend is bound to have a broken neck!" the Faker grimaced at Ben and began walking towards him,_ Underestimate me will you?_ Before he could take more than three steps he had to defend himself against Kurumu who tried to slash him with her nails.

"Woah, hold on!" the Faker said as he narrowly dodged and threw her to the ground. He looked Ben who looked as if he had a disappointed expression, "I see. So that was your plan! Haha, you're pretty smart, brat! Getting me worried just so one of your harem could get the drop on me."

"Harem? Him?" Kokoa asked. The other girls shook their heads in response.

"And you!" the Faker pointed to Kurumu who got off the ground and dusted herself off, "I like you. People who come at me with the intent to kill. It means I can go all out." his hand began to glow and he held it near his face, "If you're going to fight me, come prepared. Because I'm strong." The girls didn't really want to fight, but they knew that it looked like that's how things were going down. "Oh, silly me." he said with a laugh, "I have a light right here!" the man reached into his sock to pull out a lighter and finally lit his cigarette, "Ohhh, that's better. You know, my race is normally one that's unfit for combat. But through time I was able to become a master of the martial arts. I learned how to fight from HUMANS who are weaker than me." he seethed in anger at what he said. He then slowly removed his vest and rolled up his sleeves before taking a long drag of his cigarette, "Karate, boxing, Kung-Fu. I've mastered all the general martial arts. You're the ones who should be prepared if you're going to fight me."

Kurumu seethed in frustration, "Yeah? So what!?" she lunged forward for to swipe. The Faker smirked and was able redirect her attack while quickly spinning to her flank where she was wide open. _Oh shit! _Kurumu thought, _That's kinda like how Ben would avoid an attack._

"Oh, pretty fast." the Faker taunted. "You're probably faster and stronger than me. But...I still have one last trump card." the Faker placed his right hand over Kurumu's face and his left hand over his own. In a flash a bright light the Faker began to transform. "To make up for our lack of fighting skills, my race has the ability to copy others! Whatever I feel like, face, physique, sex or even special abilities! I can copy everything about a person. Therefore if I transform into a race that excels at fighting I can become as strong as we want." as he said this Ben watched as the Faker transformed his entire body to look like that of Kurumu in her transformed state. "I'm a Doppelganger. A sly race that steals and lives the lives of other people."

_Hmm. _Ben stood back and decided to take an analytical approach for the time being, _So he...or even she, who knows how many times he's switched appearances, can copy a monsters appearance and abilities without having to actually see what that monster looks like? This...may work in my advantage, assuming that when he gets the abilities of others he gets all their abilities. _"Woah! The Doppelganger looks exactly like Kurumu!" Yukari shouted out in surprise.

"Mm...can this be a thing?" Ben asked, "Maybe it's me being an American, but...the tight button up and skinny jeans look is kinda hot. Wow I'm...kinda surprised. I've never really been turned on by Kurumu before."

"Okay, rude." Kurumu mumbled.

Mizore blinked, "Wait. If he was a man but then turned into a woman is that gay? Progressive? Or is it straight?"

"I think it is best we avoid this subject because no matter what we say will only anger people." Ben said with a straight face and the girls seemed to agree.

The Doppelganger jumped up and down to get used his new body, "WOAH THESE TITS ARE HUGE!" he said as he groped his new chest, "I thought my shoulders felt kinda stiff but this...this is just ridiculous!"

"Hey, stop groping my boobs, Faker!" Kurumu whined. As the Doppelganger kept enjoying himself, Kurumu lashed out, "Alright, your pissing me off!" she shouted out as she slashed at her opponent. However, her attacks were fruitless as the Doppelganger would duck and weave between all of her attacks effortlessly. _Dammit, he's too fast!_ Kurumu thought.

The Doppelganger smirked, "Heheh, have you heard of the old saying: 'He who sees his own doppelganger shall die'? Well, from this day forth. Your life is mine!" he shot his hand forward and likely would have hit Kurumu if Mizore wasn't quick to jump in to knock his arm away.

"Mizore!" Kurumu shouted, thankful the snow woman jumped in to help her.

Mizore slumped her shoulders and massaged her neck. "Hey, just, like, calm down." she said with her cool demeanor, "You're being dragged into your opponent's pace and it's making your attacks sloppy. I should know, Ben does the same thing. We spent half a year training for a reason you know?"

Kurumu gulped, took a deep breath and regained her composure, "Sorry." the two looked at the Doppelganger who seemed to be admiring the 'cold' shoulder be was given by Mizore.

"My my." he said as he blew out smoke, "An ice manipulating monster? I can't wait to make your powers mine!"

Mizore frowned as her and Kurumu stepped forward, "Tch. Whatever, in the end it will be only a forgery." Mizore quickly dashed right and Kurumu left.

"Yeah!" Kurumu continued, "There's no way a phony like you can be stronger than me!" The two girls were at either side of the Doppelganger and shouted in unison, "There's just no way you can win against the two of is!" as the girls were only mere inches away from the Doppelganger he frowned nearly dropping his cigarette.

"...a phony?" he asked. The girls brought down their hands to slash at him, Kurumu with her nail claws and Mizore with her ice claws, but he caught both of their attacks with little effort. "You don't understand..." he tossed their hands away and countered with a double lariat hitting so hard both were knocked to the ground and bleeding. "I've said it before didn't I? I have mastered all the martial arts. I can use all the full potential of this body." he smirked as he looked at the two girls on the ground groaning in pain. Ruby, Yukari and even Kokoa stared in astonishment. He knocked those two down so easily, like he wasn't trying. "Ha! You shouldn't fight me so recklessly. You two should un--UGH!" he was cut off when he received a right hook across his jaw thanks to Ben who now was in costume and putting his mask on. "What the hell?" the Doppelganger held his jaw in pain and spit out some blood himself.

"Full potential? Of a succubus? What, do you have some kind of kinky neck game now?" Ben cracked his knuckles, "Or are you just the best whore on the block? They sound similar, but trust me, one is MUCH more involved. Just ask Stripperella." he rolled his shoulders and got in a ready stance, "Thanks for the combat data ladies, I think I can take it from here. Bring it on, faker." The Doppelganger frowned and advanced forward hoping to incite an attack from Ben, _C'mon,_ the Doppelganger thought, _Throw the first punch. Let me counter it._ "What's the matter? Mizore give you cold feet?" Ben asked as he now stood in a relaxed stance with his hands on his hips.

"What?" the Doppelganger asked, unsure of what Ben meant.

"Well I mean, you are the one who picked a fight with us and yet you're hanging back like a coward." he laughed, "What's the matter, ain't got the balls to strike first?" Ben looked down and had to stop himself from bursting out into laughter, "Oh, that's right. You don't anymore do you? Hey, what's it like to emasculate yourself?" the Doppelganger growled in frustration, "What's the matter? Scared to fight a kid? Throw a punch! Do it! I bet you won't! C'mon, be a man, pussy!"

"AAAAAAGH!" the anger finally getting to him the Doppelganger lunged forward to throw an attack. _Quick succession, an unblockable combo that only true masters of martial arts know!_ To his utter shock, despite Ben's calm stance he was able to not only redirect the punches the Doppelganger threw, but he was able to counter by placing his right hand on the ground behind him and then contorting his body so that he sent two kicks. The first kick was from his left foot to try and get the Doppelganger to protect his lower half, then he twisted his body so that his right foot came up and connected with the side of the Doppelganger's head. When Ben landed he was in a classic Spider-Man stance with one hand to the ground and the other at the ready. "How?" the Doppelganger asked, "How the hell did you counter that?"

"You think there's only one martial arts master in the world?" Ben scoffed, "Come on man, I know you copied Kurumu but you didn't have to copy her brains too." Ben was now the first to advance, he dash forward acting as if he was going for a superman punch, but instead of punching forward like the Doppelganger anticipated, Ben shot webbing on the ground and yanked himself into a slide so he could go underneath the Doppelganger's legs. Before the Doppelganger could turn to react Ben had used the wall behind the faker to jump over him again before firing a webline to the ceiling and swing kicking the Doppelganger through the wall. _A spider monster?_ the Doppelganger thought, _This could be useful._

Ben got closer and when he was within range the faker used his copy powers to copy only Ben's abilities, _All according to cake. _Ben thought. (Cake means keikaku. Keikaku means plan.) The Doppelganger laughed as he felt his strength increase and he shot his hand forward to shoot a webline, only nothing happened. "What?" the Doppelganger asked, "Why? Where's the webbing?"

"Oh," Ben laughed as he pointed to his Web Shooter, "They're synthetic. Much like your appearance." Ben walked forward with a menacing strut and fully convinced himself he was going to use full force against his opponent, even though it was something he never did. He did this for only one reason.

"AAAAAGH!" the Doppelganger held his head in pain, "What IS this? I don't understand! It's like a knife is slowly inserting itself into the base of my skull!" _Yeah! _Ben thought with a smile, _You've never experienced Spider Sense before, it must hurt like a bitch!_ As the Doppelganger struggled trying to get used to his new abilities, Ben quickly proceeded to pummel him relentlessly. Punch after punch in quick succession. Ben only stopped when his Spider Sense alerted him to danger, _Damn! _Ben looked down too late as the Doppelganger's tail wrapped around his leg and threw him into the air, the faker followed it up by kicking Ben back through the hole he caused.

Before Ben could hit the wall back where the others were, he quickly adjusted his body so that he landed on the wall perfectly without slamming into it. His Spider Sense went off again, but this time he was prepared and he adjusted his head so that he didn't get stabbed by the faker. "Damn you!" he spit out, "You think you're so clever! You think this changes anything?!" Ben jumped off the wall and the faker followed, using his wings to gain speed. Ben dove underneath one of the faker's attacks and web his wings together, causing him to fall to the ground. The Doppelganger got off the ground, sweat and blood on his body, "AAAAGH!" he screamed out again, "My head, it hurts iiitt huuuurrts!!" this time it wasn't Ben that attacked him but, surprisingly, Tsukune who had shown up with the vampiric blood flowing.

"Oh, god dammit." Ben complained. Again the Doppelganger got up and looked at both Tsukune and Ben. One was standing calm, and the other had a look like he was going to murder him.

"TSUKUNE!" Kurumu shouted, "You have to snap out of it, this isn't like you!"

"This isn't good." Ruby mentioned, "The vampiric blood is running rampant in his body. We have to calm him down so I can seal it back again!"

Kokoa stared in shock, _How? __He was just a normal guy but now...his aura is that of a vampire!_

The Doppelganger scoffed at the sight of Tsukune, "You're tougher than you look." he said as he wiped blood from his lips, "If you're here then Kumocchi must have been defeated. Can't say I'm not surprised."

Tsukune didn't say anything, instead he just looked at Ben, "What?" Ben asked, "You mad because I gut checked you last time you were like this? Look, if you attack that guy the way you are now I'm gonna beat the crap outta you. You tend to lose control when you're like this." Tsukune didn't respond and instead shot forward at the Doppelganger with his fist cocked back for a devastating punch. Ben got ready to stop him but saw he didn't have to when the faker had a way.

"Take this!" the Doppelganger shouted out as he flashed Tsukune his new found tits. Tsukune, still being Tsukune despite losing some of himself, began to bleed out his nose. Ben shot a webline forward and yanked Tsukune back giving Ruby and Yukari tge perfect opportunity to perform a sealing spell to hide the vampiric energy. "HAHA! I knew it, no man can resist the power of boobs!" Ben sighed as he shot a webline at the faker's stomach and pulled him forward, which he comboed into a massive headbutt that caused the monster to stagger. "What the hell? How can you resist these...massive...soft..." the faker damn near lost himself as he massaged his boobs.

"Sorry bud, call me old fashioned but..." Ben sent another massive hook across the faker's face, "I kinda prefer the boobs to be real, you know?" The Doppelganger coughed out blood and tried to assess his situation, _Damn, what can I do?_ he thought, _This brat is stronger than he looks and he has some ability that is constantly giving me a splitting headache. Why? How can he deal with such an excruciating pain? _

"Hey!" Kokoa shouted, "You're here, and he's here," she pointed to Tsukune, "But where's my sister!"

"Kokoa, calm down." Ben said with a calm voice.

"Fuck you meta! I want my sister back!" she shouted getting in Ben's face the best he could.

"And we won't find her if you are freaking out, relax. We'll find her." Kokoa stepped away from Ben and turned Kou into its mace form and went to attack the Doppelganger, but stopped when Ben got her in a full nelson, "Hey, hey, hey! RELAX! If you want to find your sister you can't go killing the lead!" Ben shouted trying to get some sense into the young vampire. Kokoa jerked her head back quickly to headbutt Ben's nose causing him to drop the girl, she then retaliated by trying to swing the mace at Ben which he ducked under. "Hey, what the hell!? Same team remember?"

"Guys!" Yukari shouted out.

"WHAT!?" both Kokoa and Ben shouted in unison. Yukari pointed to where the Doppelganger was at. WAS. "Nice going, jackass." Kokoa complained, "You let it get away!"

Ben looked on the ground and so the drops of blood that fell from the Doppelganger's face, "Not done yet." he said as he dashed off to follow the blood.

* * *

_Holy shit, what luck!_ The Doppelganger thought as he ran through the dungeon. _Now's my time to get out of here, screw the kids, screw the team and screw the money! I'm leaving here with my life!_ As he rounded the corner he collided with Moka. "You're that girl we kidnapped!" he exclaimed. The Doppelganger smiled as a thought came to mind, _Oh yeah...I'm not done yet. _He went to place his hand on her but was stopped when he felt a rough hand on his wrist. "What?"

**_"Found you...__" _**The Ghost Rider said, almost with a malicious sounding tone. **_"I figured I'd find you last. But to think you'd be retreating?"_** the Rider began to lift the Doppelganger up to eye level, **_"Now...look into my--AGH!" _**Thinking quickly, the Doppelganger used his adhesive ability he stole from Ben to grab the Rider's gun with his foot. Then, once he had ahold of it, he let off a shell in the Rider's face, causing the behemoth to drop him.

Thinking quickly, the Doppelganger then placed his hand over Moka and proceeded to transform

* * *

Kokoa was the first to round the corner and find the Doppelganger, but as she did a huge explosion of energy occured causing her to fly backward. Thankfully, Ben was nearby to catch her mid blast and bring her back to the ground. Kokoa looked up to see that the Doppelganger had managed to copy Moka's abilities a d transform into her true form, "Big sis, no!" Kokoa shouted.

"Ah shit, now I have to jump all the way down to Plan M." Ben groaned.

"Ha ha." the faker laughed and slowly began to sound more crazy as he laughed harder and harder, "Oh my god! What luck! A vampire, I found myself a vampire! A creature that can stand toe-to-toe with even the likes of the Ghost Rider!" he shouted as he pointed to the Rider who's flame had nearly died out.

"Damn." Mizore muttered, "It's bad enough when he copied Kurumu but now Moka?"

"Ben...will you be okay?" Kurumu asked.

Ben removed his mask and looked back with a smirk, "I've dealt with clones before. I know the real thing." _Okay Ben, _he thought trying to calm his nerves, _You've done this before. It'll be like that time you got roped into helping Kaine and Blade take down a clone of Dracula over break. _

The Doppelganger smirked, "Well, I have no use for her anymore...die." He lifted his hand as if he was going to jab through Moka's throat.

_Damn!_ Ben thought as he shot himself forward with his webs. Kokoa too shot forward ready to strike the monster down, "Hell no! If you think I'll let you hurt my sister, then you've got another thing coming!" the Doppelganger smirked as he let Moka go and was quick to block Kokoa's attack and the cobra strike her across the room. Ben however, proved to be more difficult. The faker went for a jab but Ben easily would duck and weave between each attack.

"How can you move around my strikes so easily?" the Doppelganger asked in frustration, "I'm faster, stronger and more experienced than you! So how can you move around each of my strikes like you have some sort of precognition?" the faker tried to get Ben to be on guard as he sent a quick kick to Ben's side breaking his already broken ribs...again, then the faker went for a reverse lariat. Ben then did the unexpected by performing the splits and sending a full forced punch to the Doppelganger's gut.

Kokoa, who could only look on in astonishment. A fake yes, but that fake still copied all of the abilities of her sister, and Ben landed a devastating counter that Kokoa had never seen the people she's fought use before, "T-That's rad."

The Doppelganger stumbled backwards slightly and held his hand against his mouth to stop the vomit from going everywhere. Kurumu and Mizore just looked on, both shaking slightly, "How disappointing." they both heard the voice of Inner Moka. Kurumu went to turn her head but she felt herself stop, "Don't worry about that. Look at yourselves. You spend all this time building up your power to defeat me and then what? You get your ass handed to you by a faker and let the human do all the work." Mizore grunted in annoyance, but it was from her own frustration. Moka was right, they were being cowards. "But there is still a chance. Show that fake what your made of!"

"Hey girls," Ben called out as he slowly got to a knee, "I could really use some help!" the faker, being more than one hundred-percent done with Ben's shit picked up the Rider's shotgun that had one physical shot left. He pointed it at Ben and smirked, "LIKE NOW!" Ben quickly reached to his belt and tossed a small 3 ounce glass flask at the Doppelganger as he fired, the flask was struck by one of the BBs which exploded the contents all over the fake. Genuine Holy Water. Ben then turned his body and covered his head as he took the brunt of the rest of the spread, "AAAAAAAGH! FUCK!"

"Now!" Kurumu shouted and both her and Mizore darted forward. The fake lifted the gun again, but realized it was empty when he heard a click.

"You're pretty stupid, huh?" Mizore taunted, "Did you really think we'd miss this opportunity? We prepared this attack for the Inner Moka and now we can (kinda) use it."

"Anti-Inner Moka Technique: Black and White No. 9!" the two girls shouted in unison and blasted the faker backwards. "Ben!" the girls cried out as they rushed over to him. He was kicking his leg in pain, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Every fucking time!" Ben yelled out, "I always get shot in the ass! Hit me in the fucking head, at least end my suffering you asshole!" the girls chuckled as they helped him on his feet, as well as Ruby, Yukari and a now conscious Tsukune.

"You're good right?" he asked.

"I'd be better if you had any sense when you transform." Ben chuckled. Suddenly his Spider Sense went off and he turned to see a very bloody Doppelganger staring him down.

"I...have taken the powers of the mighty vampire!" he shouted out, "How can someone like you, someone who has a splitting headache as an ability possibly beat me?"

Ben chuckled as he stepped forward, "That ability...is called Spider Sense. Consider it a type of precognition." he explained while tapping his head, "It alerts me to danger. Like how the Ghost Rider has gotten up behind you." the faker looked behind him to see the Rider had indeed gotten to his feet and he had pulled out the chainsaw. A worried expression formed on the Doppelganger's face as Ben began to laugh hysterically, "Looks like you have a choice. Either you move back and die, or you move forward and...maybe...escape. Either way, you're getting your ass kicked!"

The Doppelganger stared at Ben as his cocky smile grew only wider, practically inviting the faker for a fight, "You bastard..." the Doppelganger mumbled, "I'll wipe that smug ass look from your face!!!"

"Heh," Ben chuckled, "You chose...poorly." as the Doppelganger was almost right in front of Ben, he quickly rotated his torso and leaned back so that he leaned slightly to the right of his original position, he then pointed forward with his right hand as a smirk formed on his face. As Ben did that, just to his left, in his orginal position, came the leg of the true Inner Moka who shot a kick forward and knocked the faker through a wall near the Rider. The teens could breathe a sigh of relief as all the assailants had been defeated. All that could be heard was the last blood curdling screams of the faker as the Rider took care of him behind a wall.

"Hey, did we just witness a guy get murdered?" Kokoa asked, "And was that a Ghost Rider!? And how did a meta take on a vampire, albeit a fake one!?!" her questions weren't answered.

"Woo! Yeah, teamwork." Ben celebrated with a grunt of pain, "Oh, I love tag team attacks, they always have cool names and devastating damage and shit." he held his side and breathed slowly as the pain of the broken ribs, bullet wounds and everything else began to seep in more as his adrenaline died down.

"What do you call that one?" Moka asked with a cocked eyebrow, "Lean lazily to the right and ket the vampire handle it."

"Of course not...that's too long." Ben chuckled, "No, obviously that attack is called: Star Platinum...Blond."

Moka blinked in confusion, "What?"

"Oh...Oh dude." Tsukune groaned, "That's. baaaaaad."

"Fuck you guys, I'm funny!" Ben retorted.

* * *

After a long trek back, the teens were able to get the rest of the missing teens and have the rest just outside the dungeon where Ruby said she'd watch over them until the Enforcers arrived. The Ghost Rider, began to walk towards the exit. "Hey! Hold up!" Ben called out as he approached the demon hunter.

"How the hell can a human be so calm against such a...frightening creature?" Kokoa asked.

Moka only smirked, "He's not an ordinary human."

Ben limped along as he followed the Rider to the entrance. **_"What do you want?_****_" _**he asked, **_"I'm keeping my promise. I won't stay longer than I need to. I trust Strange will take care of things if this place gets out of hand."_**

"No...it isn't that." Ben said as he rubbed his neck nervously, "It's just...recently my brother died and I-"

**_"You want to know if I've seen him."_** the Rider finished.

"Well...can you?"

**_"No."_**

"What?" Ben stopped as they nearly reached the exit tunnel, "Why?"

**_"Your brother died in a different universe. Hell isn't one place that spans every universe, if it was I'd see millions of you." _**the Rider explained, **_"Think of hell as...one of these tunnels. It's more like a large gate that can link areas between this realm and a different universe. However, you can't just go through willy nilly. You have to have certain credentials. So if, IF, your brother died and IF he went to hell then he would be transferred to our hell. You understand?"_**

"So...he's alive?" Ben asked more hopeful than he had been in awhile, "Because Madame Web has been really vague about--" Ben stopped when he realized the Rider had something else to say.

**_"Or he's in that world's afterlife." _**he patted Ben on the shoulder causing the human to grunt in pain. Running his hand along Ben's torso he was able to start to heal all his injuries, **_"You take a lot of damage...for a human. I suppose that if you can take this much, your brother has a greater chance than most."_** he nodded when Ben's wounds healed and whistled for his bike which came roaring out of the bushes, **_"Till we meet again." _**the Rider said as he got on his bike, **_"Keep those vampires on a tight leash." _**and just like that he left through the tunnel in a burst of flames.

"That was kinda messed up of him to say." Ben said as he turned around to walk back to his dorm. "C'mon guys, let's head back." he called out, startling his friends who were hiding behind a bush. "Damn, that hellfire really did the trick. I may actually be over 100%."

Moka and Kokoa's eyes widened when they heard that not-so-off comment and both had the same thought, _I can fight him tomorrow._

**To be continued...**

**A/N: And there you have it! Another chapter out. Next chapter will be a little different, you'll have to see what I mean when it comes out. I don't really have much to say so just like, be safe out there. I know it's a crazy time so it's important to make sure you are doing your best to not only keep yourself, but the others around you safe. Remember to favorite, follow and leave them sweet juicy reviews.**

**Oh, and play Final Fantasy 7 Remake if you can. It kicks ass.**

**Later!**


	8. Bloody Tears

**Bloody Tears**

* * *

After the issue with the Phantom Assailants, Ben was able to go back to his dorm and take a long rest. He probably had the best sleep in a while since he wasn't injured anymore. Within his dream scape he was approached by Dreamqueen, but not for usual things. No, he just wanted to talk. Of course she still needed vitality so to give that sense of fulfillment Dreamqueen and Ben sat in a room, similar to his dorm room, and played different video games. "This is ridiculous," Dreamqueen stated, "I mean, what woman's breasts bounce this much! If a real set of boobs were to bounce that much they'd either break their shoulders or slap themselves in the face!" she was referring to Ben and her playing Dead or Alive 5.

"It isn't real." Ben laughed, "Besides, have you seen Kurumu? I'm actually shocked this doesn't happen to her." he grunted in annoyance as Dreamqueen countered his attack and chained that into a multi-hit combo. "So anyways...how am I doing?" Ben asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

Dreamqueen responded with a snort, "You are by far, the WORST man alive who has ever tried to pick up chicks. You talk big game and you flirt from time to time, but you can't pull the trigger to save your life!" she taunted, "Did you even say anything to the girl?"

"Uhh...I made a JoJo joke. Then the Ghost Rider healed me. Then I--"

"So no?" Dreamqueen asked.

"Uh...yeah, no." Ben hung his head in shame as he lost the match, "Son of a bitch."

The succubus laughed, "So what now? You're all healed up, are you going to have more confidence now or something?"

Ben selected a different character and sighed, "I wouldn't hold my breath. The only thing I have more of now is strength. Well, I'm mentally better than I have been but that's for other things. Anyways, that isn't the point! The only thing I want to do now is show her the fruit of my efforts." he smiled, "I want her to acknowledge me and the progress I've made. And I can only do that one way..." his face became that of determination as he sent a massive combo to Dreamqueen's character in game.

"You're going to fight her?" she asked and he nodded. Dreamqueen let out an exasperated breath, unsure if that was the right call. "Well," she started, "Knowing her it seems to be a way you two connect. I'm sure everything will work out fine if you fight it out." she laughed, "Hell, you might pop a boner in the middle of a grapple!" Dreamqueen was able win the round as Ben's character didn't move. Confused, Dreamqueen looked at Ben who now had a thousand yard and a massive blush.

Quickly Ben turned his head to Dreamqueen, scaring her half to death, "Why would you say something like that? Now I'm gonna be super self conscious about it! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that'd be? I may actually die!" _Geez, he really is a child. _

"That...aside." she said, trying to change the subject, "Just be honest with yourself and I'm sure she'll accept your feelings." _Or shoot you down in a blaze of fire. I mean, it's been six months. _Ben saw the smile on Dreamqueen's face and nodded. The two continued to play games until a loud thump was heard, "What the hell? What was that?"

"Don't know." Ben said, "Could be anything." the thump was heard again and Ben was forced awake.

* * *

Ben opened his eyes and looked in front of him to see Inner Moka sitting in a chair near his bed, "Jesus Christ!" Ben yelled out. Moka quickly had placed her hands over his mouth to keep him quiet.

"_Are you trying to get us found out?_" Moka whisper yelled in english. Ben cocked an eyebrow and said something under her hands, but it was muffled. "_What?_" again, Ben muffled. Moka rolled her eyes and moved her hands away, "_What?_"

"_Phrasing_." Ben said trying not to smirk. Moka frowned and covered Ben's face with a pillow causing him to struggle until she eventually gave up. Ben finally sat up right and Moka turned her head so she wouldn't face him. "_That's harsh_," Ben chuckled, "_What? Did I make you mad?_"

"_You're naked_." she replied still not looking at him.

"_HA!_" Ben looked under his sheets to make sure, but no he wasn't naked, just shirtless. "_Are you getting bashful over this? You've seen me like this before. Hell, I've seen you without your shirt on so it really shouldn't--_" Ben stopped when Moka threatened to throw the chair at him.

Moka cleared her throat, "_Well you see..._" she gestured to his desk with stacks of pornographic images and a modeling figure, "_I didn't want something to happen since you have...all of this_."

"_Oh. That's reference material_." Ben said matter-of-factly, "_Because I draw porn to make money. Does that make me like a...synthetic prostitute? You know, since people pay me to get their jimmies off, but what I give them isn't the real thing only like...like a simulation I suppose?_"

Moka folded her arms and shifted her body almost in disgust, "_I don't know. Why would you do this anyway?_"

Her body language didn't go unnoticed by Ben and he sighed in response, "_You know, it's not like I wanted to do this._" Moka cocked an eyebrow in intrigue. Ben stood up and Moka about turned away had he not been wearing shorts. Ben stretched and from what little light shone in the room Moka could make out the scars on his body. The ones she recognized the most were the ones that she saw him get during school the year before...some left worse memories than others. Her eyes gazed up to Ben's head when he ran his hands through his hair and she saw parts of his scar from when he...fell, is the agreed upon term, off the school rooftop. "_6:50!_" Ben shouted as he looked at his alarm clock, "_You couldn't have waited until like...Nine?_" Moka squinted her eyes in response causing Ben to sigh, "_Whatever. You want some coffee?_" Moka followed Ben into the Kitchenette where he pulled out a tea pot and a French Press. "_As I was saying,_" he started as he turned on the stove to heat the water, "_I didn't want to be a porn artist. I actually wanted to make comics. But I kept getting turned down. I can't even get a job for inking, line art or even coloring!_" Ben slammed his fist against his cabinet, "_So...I started drawing fan art of characters, hoping I'd land a job doing something. Then one day someone asked if I did NSFW drawings. I was apprehensive at first, but man, they were offering to pay for a commission. Soon word spread and I started doing a little raunchier drawings. Pin-ups really. More people asked for the nude images and honestly it started becoming a decent point of income. The amount of commissions I get in a month is equivalent to that of a part time job at least. Unless they send their friends your way, then you may get more._" the tea pot started to steam and Ben poured the boiling water into the French Press with coffee grounds, "_Now with my donation page open I make a couple thousand a month._"

Ben poured two cups of coffee and grabbed some cream from his fridge. Ben shook it so Moka could see, "Yes, please." Ben then took the cream and poured it into the coffee and made leaf designs, dumbfounding Moka in the process.

Ben handed the coffee to Moka with an almost bored expression on his face before quickly switching to a smile, "_Thank you for your service! Do come again!_" Ben then stared blankly at Moka, not even sure what happened. He tapped his head and frowned, "_I think 'Service with a smile' has been hard wired since I started working._" Moka had to stop herself from taking a drink of coffee to quickly cough into her fist. _That was close, I almost actually laughed at that stupid joke._ she thought. After that the two shared a long, almost awkward drink together.

_What do I talk about? _Ben thought. _I don't want to bore her with just my life story, there is a time and place for that and I feel like this isn't that. _Ben's eyes darted all around his dorm hoping to find something he could talk about. _Art? No, just did that. Games? Don't be stupid! Movies? Um...definite maybe. _Finally his gaze landed on her and her elegant form of drinking coffee. Ben gulped, "_So uh...what about you?_" Ben asked suddenly. The question almost made Moka spit out her drink, "_Like, what have you been up to? How did you spend your six months?_"

"_Sleeping."_ she stated bluntly.

"_Smartass._" Ben replied with a chuckle.

Moka took another sip from her coffee and thought about what she would say, "_Well...I suppose before I finally sealed myself away again I was...shocked to say the least._"

"_Why's that? Upset you couldn't stay in the human world?_" Ben asked, completely oblivious to what Moka meant.

"_No...some annoying foreigner confessed to me. Then just left, not knowing if we'd ever see each other again._" Moka stated as she gave a look to Ben that told him not to mess up whatever words he spoke next.

_Oh shit. That isn't a good tone._ "_Oh, uh, really?_" Ben chuckled nervously while he downed the rest of his coffee, "_That guy sounds like an asshole. But, I'm sure he built up a lot of courage to say something like that_"

"_Hm, why didn't he say it sooner I wonder? Is he just a coward?_"

"_I'd say yes and no. Yes he's a coward for saying it so late, but also no because...better late than never?_"

Moka gave a look that showed she wasn't buying it, "_Hmm. Sounds like something a coward would say._" Ben flinched a little from her response, "_But...I suppose we ended up seeing each other again. Albeit under strange circumstances. Can't say I expected to see him inside a plant._"

"_Well I'm sure it was weird for me...uh...him to..._" Ben sighed, "_Okay, I'ma drop the act we both know it's me._" Moka smirked, "_Yeah, it was weird but somewhat fitting.__ I've been saved by you more often than I have anyone else I know. Sounds like you may be my hero._" Ben smiled. The sentiment from Ben made Moka's heart skip a beat, but she still kept her composure. "_You know..._" _This is it,_ Ben thought, _Just go for it! Can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. The omelette of course would be me getting with Moka...the eggs would be me potentially getting shot down, I think. _"_I uh...never got a response._"

Moka had to stop drinking her coffee so she didn't choke. _Where the hell did that come from? _She thought, _When the hell did he become so forward?_ **_Perhaps he's really been waiting for a response._** the 'Outer' Moka replied with a chuckle. "_A response...What do you mean_?"

"_Well...usually when people say something like that they want some closure. Whether you feel the same way or not?_" Ben explained.

Moka hummed and tapped her chin, "_I wonder...Okay. I'll tell you. But you have to do something first._" Ben cocked an eyebrow in confusion to which Moka smirked, "_You have to fight me first!_ _The last time we__ fought both of us were under poor conditions. __I saw how strong you can be and now that you're at 100% I want to see that strength for myself!_" Moka hadn't realized it but she had moved close enough to Ben to where she was pressing against his chest.

_I...I guess Dreamqueen was right. _"_Yeah, okay._" was all Ben could say. She didn't show it, but somehow Ben could tell Moka was cheering. _Heh, now I can show her how strong I've gotten!_ Ben regained his composure and smirked, "_I hope you're ready, because I won't hold back!_"

* * *

Moka stood out in a clearing in the forest waiting for Ben to show up. While he wasn't there she was pacing back and forth, _What do I do?_ she thought, _I challenged him to a fight but how do I go about this? He's strong but he is still human. He's weaker than many of the monsters here._ **_You could try holding back. _**Her 'Outer' self told her. _Holding back? More than usual? _**_Well, what else would we do!? If you're so worried about not accidentally...you know, BREAKING HIM, then holding back is the only choice we have. _**"Hm." Moka cupped her chin in thought. _Well. I suppose he won't realize the difference. _**_Right? Right? Give him a good fight and let your feelings known! _**_Yes, let my feelings--_ "WHAT!?" she shouted in surprise, _That wasn't the plan! **Oh? Could've fooled me. I was sure that the reason you were fighting was just to be close to him. **__Whatever! Hold back. Don't break him. Give him a response--NOT necessarily saying I like him. **Which you do. **__Shut up!_

"_Uh...you okay?_" Moka snapped to attention when she heard Ben approach her, "_Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just me._" Ben held up his hands defensively. Moka looked at Ben as he wore his suit, surprisingly with no holes anywhere.

Moka frowned while looking at his suit, "_Wait...I thought--_"

"_I have extras, Moka_." Ben answered. He began to stretch his arms and got a good look at his surroundings. "_Pretty ballsy to choose an area where I have the obvious advantage_." Ben smirked.

"_What, you think your webs are going to be enough to beat me?_" she scoffed giving an almost disgusted looking facial expression, "_It seems you haven't learned anything from the last time we fought!_"

"_Right, you mean when I beat your ass._" Ben taunted as he started getting in his ready position.

"_HA! Is that so? I seem to recall me dislocating your arm!_" Moka was quik to respond as she got into her own fighting stance, "_Also I had to deal with Tsukune. So I was preoccupied._" Ben shot forward with a jab and Moka deflected it, but was caught off guard when Ben used the close distance to pull Moka into a hold.

"_Funny, you and I...have a different...MEMORY!_" Ben had jumped on Moka and wrapped his legs around her torso, then, he used his momentum to spin around Moka's body so that he was behind her. Bending back, Ben stuck his hands to the ground and used his lower body strength to lift Moka up and slam her into the ground. "_I recall ME fending off Tsukune and knocking some sense into YOU._" Moka rubbed her neck as she got off the ground, _Damn. _she thought, _Kinda forgot how agile he was._

Moka took a deep breath and jolted her body into a fighting stance, the resulting movement caused all of the dust to fly off her. _Okay, that was cool. _Ben thought. Moka's eyes narrowed as she shot forward with a hand cocked back ready to jab Ben. _What? _Ben thought, _Hand combat? She uses her legs though._ Moka's arm shot forward and Ben simply redirected the attack. _What was that? _Ben thought, _It was so easy. So slow, so...so weak! Why? This is ridiculous! _Moka continued to send a barrage of her attacks while Ben deflected them. Finally seeing an opening, Ben sent a headbutt and staggered Moka backwards.

Ben began to circle around Moka before jumping into the trees behind her. Moka looked around as all she heard were the rustling of trees. Finally Ben slammed down to the ground and Moka narrowly avoided him. Ben then launched forward with a flurry of attacks all of which Moka would block, however there were a few that actually landed. Moka jumped back to regain her footing and took a deep breath. _Okay, what the fuck!? That was too easy!_ Ben frowned, _This isn't right. Is she holding back against me? What the fuck!?!_ Moka launched forward and again was sending a flurry of jabs. Ben, wanting to test his theory, got in a relaxed stance and started to block all of Moka's attacks like he was Dante from Devil May Cry using Royal Guard. And sure enough, Ben was blocking all her attacks.

_You don't think he's realized we're holding back do you? _Moka thought, **_What? No. No, no, nonononono. It's...it's fine._** Ben then grabbed Moka's wrist on her last attack and stared at her with a frown. _Shit. I think he realized._ "_Hey,_" Ben started, "_Remember how you wanted us to fight? You know. I thought maybe you would take something like this seriously, but you holding back like you are...is really pissing me off._" **_He knows we can't just go full force against him, right?_** "_Now come on! Take this seriously! I've waited for this as much as you have!_" Ben smiled, "_I want to show you just how strong I've become! But I can't do that if you don't come at me with everything you've got! So c'mon!_"

* * *

Within the trees Kokoa watched as Ben tried to provoke her sister. "This is crazy...the thought of him actually fighting against big sis." Kokoa watched as both Ben and Moka took their stances again, "Anything can happen." suddenly she gasped in realization, "Wait, but if anything happens to him that means I can't fight him! Agh! Dammit, I should just jump down there and stop the fight myself. No fair for big sis to hog him. I have a score to settle, dammit!"

* * *

Back down below, Ben and Moka got in their stances again. Just as Moka had gotten into her stance Ben had already launched himself forward. "CRAWLER AAAASAULT!" Moka had to quickly block his attacks best she could. _Remember his pattern__. _Moka thought, _Up, Up, Up, Left, Right, Up, Right, Left, Le--_ her train of thought was stopped when Ben used his webs to slide between her legs and flank her, _DAMN! _Just as Moka turned around she was met with a gut punch and a head butt. _So...he added on? He probably figured I'd remember._ Ben then fired a barrage of web balls at Moka which started to envelope her body in a cocoon. Then Ben web zipped to gain momentum so he could bull rush Moka. _Not happening! _Moka used her strength to tear from the web prison and as Ben jumped up for a drop kick, Moka sent her own monstrous kick to his gut sending him flying into a tree.

"_Oh my god!_" Moka gasped. _What have I done? I used to much of my power. What if I killed him!?_ Ben got up slower than usual and puked out the contents of his stomach, mostly just fluids. Ben wiped his mouth and smiled slightly before jumping forward again. "_Damn, seriously?_" Moka tried to get Ben to back off by sending a flurry of kicks like Chun-Li, all of which Ben dodged. _He seems to be not as reactive as usual. More than enough reason to keep holding back. His worse reactions and that strike. It's too much for a human to bear. _

_This doesn't make any sense. _Ben thought as he dodged another kick from Moka, _Her kicks have gotten slower. The only real attack was that one that caught me in the air. It's almost like she's taking pity on me. _Ben saw Moka sending another kick at him. Instead or blocking or dodging he decided to see how hard she was actually trying. The kick came and eventually collided with his side but felt...rather low tier, even to his standards. Felt more like he wss hit with a bat than a kick from Moka. Ben could only look down in disappointment, "_Stop..._" he said softly causing Moka to gasp, "_I told you to go all out and you're treating me like I'm some sort of fragile figure!_" Ben shouted_._ Moka gasped in surprise, "_The whole point was to show you my strength to prove I can stand toe-to-toe with any monster here!_"

"_Tch. You don't understand._" Moka explained, "_You're--"_

"_What, o__nly human? Was that what you were going to say?_"

"_No!_"

"_Because I'm a lot tougher than I look! I'm not some glass canon like Tsukune, so don't treat me like one!_" Tears began to well up in Ben's eyes as he spoke, "_You want to know something? I wanted to fight you because I knew it would make me stronger. Because when I'm around you my Spider Sense doesn't go off._" Moka stared in surprise. _His Spider Sense?_ she thought. "_If you recall, my Spider Sense alerts me to danger. However, it won't work against somebody that I greatly trust. I trusted you wouldn't kill me already, I told you I'd be fine! That attack that connected, that was my own mistake, let me learn from them! You're my best opponent because fighting you would force me to be tactical. I can become a smarter fighter and an overall better fighter if I'm against you!_

"_I may be an asshole to who ever I fight, but what you did...that holding back bullshit...that's the most disrespectful and insulting gesture I've ever seen. You essentially told me I wasn't worth your time, you disrespected me as an opponent, and you spit in my face. I'm not one of these monster of the week assholes, I stood toe-to-toe with a Yoko dammit! I've proven myself time and again. And that was last year, this year I'm stronger than I've ever been, physically and mentally. So why? Why would you do treat me like a child!?"_

Moka could only stare in shock. _I don't think I've heard Ben sound so hurt. **We totally offended him...didn't we. **_"_Ben...After what happened last year I just didn't want to--"_

"_Coward._" Ben interrupted causing Moka to widen her eyes in surprise, "_It was different then, both of us were injured injured severely, and even then we still gave it our all. I didn't mind, it was fine afterward. You trying to use that one time as a basis is a coward's excuse!_" Ben scoffed in frustration and began walking back to his dorm, "_Whatever, fuck this. If you won't take this seriously I'll go back to my dorm._"

"_What!? No, I wanted to--What about my answer__?_" Moka called out.

"_Save it. I don't want to hear it. Not until you respect me enough to actually fight me._" with that Ben didn't say anything else, he just waved and left leaving a speechless Moka.

"_I...but..._" _No way. Did I actually...shatter his pride. What the hell is wrong with me? _

* * *

Kokoa stared in surprise, "No way! He called it? He's just leaving?" she scratched her head trying to understand what happened. "HEY! This means he's leaving with barely a scratch which means," she clutch her fist in anticipation, "I get to squash this bug!" she smiled.

Jumping down from the trees Kokoa followed Ben back to his dorm before coming out of nowhere and blocking his entrance, "Ben Reilly!" she shouted out, "As you recall you said you'd fight me anytime anywhere. So I challenge you to a battle here and now!"

Ben stared at Kokoa with an annoyed look on his face, "I'm not in the mood. Step aside." Ben tried to move Kokoa when she grabbed his wrist.

"I don't think so!" she smiled, "My pride as a vampire is on the line, and you promised, arachnid!" Kokoa poked Ben in the chest to get her point across, "And I hope you're ready, because I don't plan on holding back against you."

Ben's eyes widened slightly when she said that and a slight smile came across his face, "You know...I was pretty pissed off for some reason, so I was gonna say now is a bad time. But you have convinced me that I need to blow off some steam. I'll fight you, under our previous conditions as well that you take any pointers I give you seriously."

Kokoa smirked, "I must admit, for a human you have some advanced techniques and I want to use them all. So let's fight!"

* * *

Moka paced back and forth in the forest going over what happened, "Was I really holding back that much?"**_ You must have if Ben could take a kick to his side like that, or even block without wincing in pain. _**"Well what about him? He holds back his power all the time, why is that any different!?" **_Well...Ben holds himself back so he doesn't kill his opponent. Which is what we do already, you are holding back even more than that. _**Moka face palmed to herself, "God, I really am awful. Ben probably thought I was toying with him." **_Worse, I think he believes you didn't see him as a real fight._** Moka groaned, "What do I do?" **_Easy, apologize. He may not forgive you right away, but you heard him next time we need to be serious._** "Right. An apology. Got it."

Moka made her way to Ben's dorm to apologize, but got sidetracked when she heard loud noises out by the cemetery area. Once there, Moka hid herself behind a tree as to not be seen. What she saw shocked her beyond belief. Ben covered with bruises and bleeding from his mouth, but he was smiling. His opponent to Moka's surprise was Kokoa who seemed to be enjoying herself more than Ben. The weirdest part was that Kokoa was fighting in hand-to-hand. _What the hell?_ Moka thought_, Since when did Kokoa fight without using Kou?_ She continued to watch as the two clashed again, a frown came across Moka's face as she began to experience an emotion she thought trivial: Jealousy. She left without making herself known. She ended up not apologizing.

**To be continued...**

* * *

_~Omake~_

* * *

"What?" Kurumu asked as she, Ben and Yukari sat in the clubroom together waiting for the others, "You want to put porn in the newspaper?"

"Not porn," Ben clarified, "But more like an ad...so that I can get more money (potentially)." Ben had an idea to get more people to buy art from him while he was at school. His strange plan was to place pictures in the paper to try and promote his artwork.

"You really want to make an enemy out of every woman in school, don't you." Yukari replied with a sigh.

"_Pfft,_ I only care about who my potential customers would be. Besides...don't you think word of mouth from the male customers would skyrocket?" Ben stated.

"We already have two reasons why guys get the papers." Yukari retorted.

"Four, if you count Moka." Kurumu said with a sly grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Besides, even if it did work, what would you put in there?"

Ben scratched his head in thought, "Ruby's over 18 right?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Yukari stated, crossing her arms to form an 'X'. "You will not use her for your degenerate profession."

"What about teachers?" Mizore suggested, scaring the other three in the room.

"Where did you come from!?" Ben shouted out as he clutched his chest trying to calm his beating heart.

Mizore tilted her head to the said in confusion, "I've been here the whole time."

Yukari slammed her hand against the table, "Again, no! We can't just use the teachers like that. Also, kinda creepy."

"What if it was Moka?" Kurumu suggested with a blank face.

Yukari seemed to have almost lost consciousness as the idea of Moka in lingerie spread in a double full was in their paper, "That would be okay, heh heh." her voice of reason was gone as blood practically drained from her nose and she gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah, no." Ben replied. He sat at the table and rubbed his face in frustration trying to figure out what to do. "Oh," he said in realization as he looked up to Kurumu, "Kurumu, your mom's a prostitute right?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she shouted while hitting Ben repeatedly, "SHE MAY BE A SUCCUBUS BUT SHE ISN'T A SEX WORKER ASSHOLE! AND EVEN IF SHE WAS I WOULD NEVER LET MY MOM BE IN THIS PAPER!"

"What about Morrigan?" Yukair mentioned.

"Morrigan?" The others asked, "Wait...you mean from Darkstalkers?" Ben mentioned.

"Yeah. She's popular, above age, was practically every young boy's fantasy in the 90s, I think with your aesthetic it would make perfect sense."

"I guess...Capcom isn't really using her anyways." Ben mentioned.

"Must be tough, being a near forgotten character." Mizore nodded.

Ben smiled and cheered, "Alright! Morrigan it is!"

**A/N: Alright, another quick chapter out. What does this mean going forward? Was progress made or have they taken several steps back? Who is Moka more jealous of, Kokoa or Ben? Will they ever figure things out? Will the stigma of being an NSFW artist ever leave? (Probably not, but one can hope!)**

**All these questions probably won't be answered at once and may even take time, because that's descent story telling. But not to worry an answer will be given!**

**In all seriousness, this is a little bit of a different chapter trying out some different things. I hope you enjoy, remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave me some sweet reviews.**

**Okay, Laters.**


	9. New Recruits

**News Recruits**

Moka, Tsukune and the others stood outside the front gates of Yokai Academy as they began to hand out their current edition of the Yokai Times. _"Special Edition: Monster Terrorists Hide Out In Abandoned School Dungeons"_ read the title causing lots of conversation to come from the students who would grab the paper. "A group of thieves invaded Yokai Academy!" Moka called out, "That same day the legendary Monster Killer: The Ghost Rider takes them down!" Many of the students were skeptical, of course, but most seemed convinced when they saw the pictures provided.

"No way, they have to be lying!" One student argued.

"No way man, these guys ran into the Rider last year while in the human world. It must have come back to take them out, but got sidetracked by those thieves."

Tsukune handed out papers with a smile as they seem to be flying off the shelves. But inside he was secretly trying to hold everything together. _Okay, it's been two days. _he rationalized, _But I still can't stop thinking about that guy. I mean, he had taken all of Moka's power. If he did that any sooner we could have died!_ The skull face of the Ghost Rider quickly flashed in his mind and a shiver was sent all over his body, _Ugh. I wish I could get that face out of my head. Why does a good guy have to look so scary?_ Tsukune looked around the table and noticed a distinct lack of American pride. "Where the hell is Ben?" he asked.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head, "He said he had some errands to run."

Kurumu overheard the two and cocked an eyebrow in interest, "Errands? How would you know that?"

"Well, I was running the student store last week and I happened to see him come in. He seemed very distraught as he looked for something. I can't say what. So he asked me if I could perhaps procure his special order from the human world." she explained, "So I told him that if he paid me triple what it costs I'd sneak it in for him." she smiled.

Kurumu and Tsukune looked at each other and laughed, "Ruby, that's like, extortion." Kurumu mentioned.

"Huh?"

"Yeah," Tsukune added, "You are asking for more money by threatening not to get him the item. Not only are you extorting him, you're running a black market business."

"What!?" Ruby began to sweat slightly now, "I didn't know what I was doing was illegal!"

* * *

Once the morning was over the Newspaper Club went back to their club room to celebrate their success on a great first paper. Drinks (non-alcoholic of course) were spread around the table as Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, Mizore and even Ruby raised their cans, "CHEERS!" they shouted out. "Great work everyone." Kurumu added, "Our first issue was extremely popular, I'm so happy!"

"It's nice to see the fruits of our labor really made it, huh?" Tsukune added, "Moka and Ben's great illustrations and Yukari's layout look fantastic." he complimented. Moka and Yukari blushed as they said their thanks.

Kurumu pouted and, not wanting to be left behind, clung to Tsukune's arm and begged for attention, "Tsukune, c'moooooon. Praise me too. Just look at my cool cooking corner column I did."

"Mm, my novel series too." Mizore mumbled.

At the corner of the room stood a very disheveled Kokoa who flipped through the pages over and over looking for any mention of her sister, "Isn't this weird though? I mean there isn't a single mention of big sis anywhere! She took out those thieves not that human in monster's clothing!" she sighed as she folded the paper, "And I wanted to see that heroic figure covering the front page."

Kurumu leaned over the table to Yukari, "Make a note to have Ben do a pin-up of 'Inner' Moka." she whispered. Yukari's eyes beamed and she gave a thumbs up as blood trickled down her nose. "Anyways," Kurumu started as she stood up suddenly, "That's alright isn't it? The purpose isn't to praise those who fought. Ben even made it explicitly clear that despite how good the deeds may be we shouldn't applaud the Rider for killing them." Kurumu frowned, "By the way, Kokoa...why are you here?"

Kokoa jolted slightly, "Uh...that's..."

"Kokoa, is it..." Yukari smiled smugly, "That you want to join the Newspaper club?" Kokoa couldn't say anything in response causing the rest of the members to gasp in surprise.

Suddenly Yukari and Kurumu cheered as they got up and in Kokoa's face, "Whaaaaat? Why didn't you say so earlier!? We haven't had any freshman to join yet!" Kurumu exclaimed.

"You're welcome to join right away!" Yukari cheered, "Finally, I get an underclassman." very quickly the members pulled a sign from out of nowhere that said 'Welcome to the Club!' They also were able to pull out confetti poppers at the blink of an eye.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kokoa shouted with a light blush on her face, "W-Why the hell would I want to join this stupid club? I am a proud vampire, I have no reason for trivial things." she folded her arms and frowned, "T-The real reason I'm here is because that American told me 'Anytime, Anywhere' when it came to a challenge." Moka could hear her Inner self groaning in frustration. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and the group saw a messy looking Ben with a large handprint on his face, and headphones blasting _My Own Worst Enemy_. Looking up more the group saw that Ben had re-dyed his hair blond.

"Oh he's back!" Tsukune shouted as he was the first to greet Ben with a very loud high five, "Throwbacks have started and it isn't even Thursday!"

"Hell yeah, I'm bringing the 90's back baby!" Ben shouted with a quick flex.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kurumu asked, "And what's with the hand print on your face? You hit on someone."

"I caught a girl who tripped, but she mistook it as me trying to cop a feel I guess." Ben explained with a shrug.

"Obviously they've never met you." Mizore mentioned as she dug through her bag for something.

Kokoa scoffed, "It's probably because of your degenerate hair."

Ben looked over to the young vampire and smiled, "Are you joining the club?" Ben asked causing Kokoa to be speechless once again. Ben bent forward slightly and patted Kokoa's head, "That's really awesome, you know the Newspaper Club is full of badasses. We are arguably the strongest club around." he laughed, "So, what's the reason for joining? Is it Moka? Tsukune? Do you just want to do as little work as possible? Or perhaps..." Ben pointed at himself with a large smile, "You just wanted to see me again."

Kurumu burst out laughing, "As if, Ben! You're chick repellent!"

"Well duh!" Ben retorted, "Have you seen my face. I'm not nearly average looking enough to have a harem. Hell, because I'm a foreigner that makes me too unique and I'll never get _bodacious babes_ that way."

"'_Bodacious Babes_?'" Ruby repeated with a chuckle.

"I watched _Bill and Ted_ recently." he explained.

"Here it is." Mizore said suddenly, popping up in front of Ben and Kokoa, "I'll be joining the club." she said as she handed Tsukune her application, "I wasn't an official member last year so I thought this would fix things."

Ben tilted his head in thought, "Wait...you weren't a member last year? But you were always chilling (heh heh) around the classroom when we were setting up our paper."

"Yeah, that's what UNOFFICIAL means. She was a member in...uh...in spirit." Moka laughed. **_Why even give him a response? He seems to want to prove himself first. Let him PROVE how smart he is. After all, that's WHAT HE THINKS IS BEST. _**The venom from Moka's Inner self was so volatile that if she was out of her seal she likely would be tearing Ben a new one.

"Kinda uncool to bring that up in front of everyone." Ben mumbled.

"OH!" Ruby quickly sat up from the table and rushed to Tsukune with an application in hand, "I too would like to join the club!"

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN A STUDENT, THOUGH!" both Tsukune and Ben yelled out.

Ruby waved her hand back and forth with a sweet smile on her face, "It's okay, it's okay. I have permission from the headmaster. As thanks for helping the Ghost Rider he allowed me to become the 'Assistant Advisor!'" she exclaimed.

"You didn't do anything!" Kokoa complained, "She didn't do anything. Tell her human!" she said while shaking Ben, "Tell her it was all big sis!" Ben grabbed Kokoa's arms and made her let go of him.

"We don't do it for the glory." Ben said, echoing what Kurumu mentioned earlier. Ben then leaned over to Kokoa and whispered in her ear, "She only wants to join because she's trying to get in Tsukune's pants."

"This is amazing!" Tsukune cheered, "Ruby, Mizore and Kokoa too?"

"I told you, I'm not joining!" Kokoa complained again. She suddenly jumped into Ben's arms when Ms. Nekonome appeared out of nowhere carrying a bottle that looked to be sparkling cider and was wearing a cheerleader's outfit.

"Welcome to the cluuuuub!" Nekonome cheered. Her out fit exposed a lot of midriff making all the members to give a surprised expression.

"Ms. Nekonome, what the hell are you wearing?" Tsukune asked.

"Isn't it cuuute," Nekonome smiled, "Uh...I mean, it's, like, super fab."

"You're a gal?" Kurumu asked.

"Best of all, the outfit makes me feel thirty years younger!" Nekonome cheered as she held her hands up like a cat and lightly scratched her ear.

Ben, with a slight blush (he has a cat girl fetish) looked at Nekonome with wide eyes, "You're 47?" _Looking damn good. _Ben thought. He quickly held his hand up to his face to catch the cork Nekonome launched at him from the sparkling cider. She had an extremely upset, "You dropped this." Ben smiled.

Nekonome sighed, "Anyways. As a club we can't grow without any newcomers. So without a new generation our club will die out." she gave a slight frown, "Which meeeeans...our club isn't quite safe yet. So we should go out there and start scouting!"

"But we're celebrating!" Tsukune complained.

"Ohhh...I don't think this is a good idea." Ben said with a nervous smile. The other members gave him a weird look, "I'm not exactly on good terms with the..." Ben quickly pulled out a notepad and went through all the clubs he had beef with, "Art club, Video Game club, Wrestling club, Make Up club...uh...Women's Rights club, Sci-Fi club, Baseball club, Swimming club, Weight Training club and the 'Inner Moka Appreciation club, formerly known as the Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari fan club' club. That's uh...that's it's whole name." the girls cringed at the last name because they knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Wait...how do you have beef with all those clubs? I mean, you didn't even fight the Swimming club like Moka and Tsukune did." Kurumu mentioned.

"Ah, guilty by association. Art club is mad at me and Moka because we left them without an advisor and they were shut down until the start of this year. I beat the President of the Video Game club using a dirty tactic in Street Fighter 2 and she wasn't happy. I beat the shit out of Chopper Rikishi last year and the Wrestling club hasn't forgiven me. I apparently made fun of the vice president of the Make Up club, some gyaru chick. I corrected some dude in the Sci-Fi club and he wasn't having it. I broke the Homerun Record in Baseball club. And the Weight Training club doesn't like me because...I don't know."

Yukari was counting on her fingers but still had a confused look on her face, "Wait...what about that Women'd Rights club?"

"Oh...remember how I said I tried to help some girl from falling? Turns out she was the president."

**_Someone's good at making friends._**

"I don't want to hear that from you, Ms. Anti-social." Ben retorted.

"AHEM!" Nekonome coughed to gain her students' attention, "Chop, chop team. We're burning daylight!"

* * *

The Newspaper club quickly went down to the main corridors of the school where they could see practically every nook and cranny is full of students. As Ben looked around he tried to avoid eye contact with the different clubs he was feuding with. _Damn, this place is more packed than the New York subway._ Ben turned and nearly ran Keito, "Oh, Jesus!"

"Oh, hello Reilly." Keito greeted.

"Hey, what's up? Um...why are you here?" he asked, "You gonna tie up anyone that gets out of line?"

"Actually I'm here specifically because of you." Keito said with a glare that could cut dimensions. Keito pulled out a large folder from her bag and flips through the pages, "Let's see, we've had several complaints about you just today."

"Oh come on, I was trying to catch that girl. It's not my fault I accidentally grabbed her chest. How the hell would I know where I was grabbing anyways? She's damn near concave." Keito had to restrain herself from almost laughing at the description.

"Well, I don't want to hear about it again. We get any more sexual harrassment reports like this you'll have to deal with the Enforcers."

Keito began to walk away and Ben was left dumbfounded, "Sexual harass--? What the fuck!?"

"When the hell did this school get so crowded!?" Tsukune asked as he struggled to get through the crowd. He yelped in surprise when he felt someone touch his butt, thinking it was one of the girls he turned around to complain but saw it was Ben, "Oh geez...no wonder you have so many complaints."

"Fuck you dude, I was pushed." Ben retaliated. Ben then snickered as he poked Tsukune's sides causing him to laugh and bat Ben's hand away.

"Stop, fucking weirdo." Tsukune laughed.

"Remember everyone," Nekonome called out as she marched ahead of the club, "like everybody else we are supposed to be scouting for new members today. So let's do our best!" the girls all cheered with Nekonome, except for Kokoa who was forced to put on a cheerleader's outfit and try to get members, despite her not being one herself.

"W-What is this?" Kokoa whined as she trembled with embarrassment, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she, a mighty vampire, is reduced to dress up. "C'mon, how come I, a non-member, have to wear this costume? Why do I have to wear such embarrassing attire?" Kokoa flailed her arms as she complained, "I'd rather wear that American's stupid suit!"

"Yo!" Ben looked at Kokoa with an upset expression, "Don't dis the threads."

"And what about my sister!?" Kokoa complained, "Have you no shame!" Yukari and Kokoa looked over to Moka who smiled as she tried to get new members.

Yukari laughed, "You know, maybe you should drop your pride act every now and then and just have fun. Just look at Moka." Yukari laughed.

"What the hell do you know about me? And how the hell will sex appeal attract new members?" As Kokoa said that the club members were bombarded with a large group of boys, many were freshman but there were also some older students who considered switching clubs just for the girls. As they got closer all Kokoa could hear was them praising the girls over and over and then they started to praise her by calling her cute. The Praise was unwarranted, and Kokoa's heart began beating faster and faster, _I-I hate this._ she thought, _I didn't ask to do this I just...I..._ she quickly looked over to her sister and then to Ben. Ben locked eyes with her and Kokoa turned away in embarrassment, he definitely saw the tears falling down her face. "No! There isn't a chance in hell I'm joining this damn club!" Kokoa cried as she jumped in the air and sped away.

"Huh? Kokoa!" Yukari called out. Ben grabbed her shoulder and smiled.

"I've got her." Ben assured. With that he pointed his arm in the air and fired a web line so he could swing after Kokoa.

* * *

Kokoa escaped the hustle and bustle of club rush by going to the rooftop of the academy where, thankfully, nobody was. She stood atop one of the spires and sighed as she looked over the school, "Who cares about stupid clubs." she mumbled with a frown, "I don't have time for stuff like that. Right Kou? Ypu understand don't you?" Kou, her familiar hovered over her before resting on her shoulder with an equally upset expression. _I guess...they were pretty cool that time in the dungeon. And...that American has some moves._

"Hey!" Kokoa turned around to see Ben scaling the spire towards her, "Kokoa, I'm glad I caught up with you." Kokoa frowned at the site of the American, _I take it back. He's annoying. _"Hey, why'd you take off like that? Is everything alright?"

"Who cares. This isn't about you. Just...just leave me alone." Kokoa turned to walk away but jumped in surprise when Ben was in front if her, "What the?" she looked behind her and then back to Ben, "How did you do that?"

Ben looked around the area to make sure no one was listening and then leaned to Kokoa's ear, "Ancient spider secret." he whispered. Kokoa groaned and shoved past Ben, but he grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving, "Hey, c'mon. Tell me what's up."

"Let go!" Kokoa yelled and immediately Ben loosened his grip, "God, you're annoying. Take a hint. I can't get anywhere following you losers. I'll never catch up to my sister that way."

"Ahhhhh," Ben hummed as he walked side by side with the younger vampire, "An inferiority complex." she went to protest but Ben stopped her, "No, I get it. Seriously, I do. I always feel inferior to my deceased brother because I have no basis on how good I'm doing my job. My other brother pretty much treats me like crap more often than not. And, yeah, I feel that way about your sister too." Kokoa cocked an eyebrow, "No seriously! Last year your sister and I beat the ever living shit out of anybody who dared oppose our club, and/or tried to kill us...sometimes both!" he laughed, "Since then I've just wanted to be as strong as her. But she doesn't see me as a worthy opponent. I can tell by the way she holds back against me." Ben looked at her and he could see in her eyes the same determination he has, "But I can't give up! I have to keep getting stronger, to prove that I can roll with the strongest of monsters."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Kokoa mumbled, "You're a human. And humans can't beat vampires. That's just a matter of fact."

Ben nodded his head, "Hm, interesting. What's our score right now? 0-3 me?"

"Shut the fuck up, human!" she yelled with a blush, "You just got lucky is all."

"Kid, if I could get lucky with the same woman three times in a row I'd marry her." Kokoa shrugged her shoulders with a confused expression, "I'm talking about sex."

"Oh god. That sounds desperate."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna die at like 40 so...might as well live a full life."

"Why the hell are you telling me these things?" Kokoa asked, "Why tell me your life story? Who cares?"

Ben stepped in front of her so she was facing him, "Because you and I are the same. We have the same eyes."

"Hm, nice try, by my eyes are emerald and yours are blue."

Ben flicked her head and chuckled, "That's not what I meant, smartass. You and I have the eyes of someone who's determined. We both wish to be better than our siblings, because we have something to prove to them...right?"

Kokoa's lower lip began to tremble before the waterworks began to flow out, "This isn't fair!" she sobbed, "I'm no good...and...and my sister will just leave me behind like they always dooooo!"

Ben patted Kokoa's shoulder, "Then let's get you stronger."

* * *

Kokoa and Ben walked along the school grounds looking for a club Kokoa could join that'd help her combat prowess. "Now," Ben smacked his lips as he ate Takoyaki that was being sold by the Cooking club to attract members, "as I've said before, you have no hand-to-hand skills. Therefore you should join one of these martial arts clubs." Ben licked his fingers and continued, "You've got all sorts of choices and I'll be here to back you up so...have at it." Kokoa and Ben looked on at the Karate club stand where the members took turns breaking through tombstones.

"WOW HE BROKE TEN TOMBSTONES!" one of the freshman shouted out in surprise.

"As expected of the Yokai High Karate club." another chimed in.

"Is that a lot?" Kokoa asked. She looked at Ben in disgust as he shoved more food in his mouth.

"I don't know. I usually don't make my opponent some dead guy's grave." Ben joked. "Go ahead, take your pick. These guys are generally the real deal. Hell, I guess Kurumu and Mizore trained with a few of them during our break." Kokoa blinked in surprise, "Look. You're a vampire. You're stronger than pretty much everyone out there regardless how much you train. But you can be stronger and you can be more precise, so...have at it."

Kokoa cocked her eyebrow, "So...you DON'T want me to join the Newspaper club?"

"I'm not gonna force you to do anything. I'm not your father. Just...you'll see." Kokoa looked down and then back to Ben before nodding. Kokoa made her way through the large crowd of, maybe not so surprisingly, all male potential applicants. Eventually she made it to a counter to sign up for one of the clubs.

"Sorry, no can do." the man running the counter said. He was a skinny student, looked to be a second year. He had a basic bowl cut and wore the same expression that made him look like the mask seller from Majora's Mask. The only other defining feature was the purple lines that were painted below his pupils. Kokoa had a shocked expression, but Ben nodded as if he knew this would happen. "Our club has is very strict. We just won't let in a cute girl." Kokoa stomped her foot in frustration. _Doesn't look like you'll let in any women. _Ben thought as he looked around the clubs. "More than that," the attendant continued, "You're just too small." a crack was heard from the Karate club member breaking another ten stack of tombstones, causing Kokoa to jump. "Why don't you come back when you can break one tombstone girly."

"Done, she can do it. I know first hand." Ben spoke up.

Kokoa, thanks to the confidence boost, began to get pumped up, "Hell yeah! I'll show you what I'm made of!"

"Great. One try is one thousand yen." the man smiled. Kokoa's eyes widened as she pulled out her wallet only to find she had no cash. _Extortion, nice. _Ben thought as he rolled his eyes. "Best part," the man walked up to the club member who kept breaking all the tombstones, "If you manage to break more than this behemoth here you'll win 50,000 yen." _Oh, gambling too? Talk about a real piece of work. _

Kokoa grumbled and began grinding her teeth in frustration, "Fine...I'll just try out a different club. C'mon, American!"

Kokoa began to leave but Ben lingered behind and stared at the man running the Karate club stall, "You guys are real pieces of shit, ain't ya?" he mentioned before following Kokoa.

Ben and Kokoa then went to other martial arts and fighting clubs and as they did Kokoa would be thrown out of each one of them for the same reasons the Karate club turned her away. "Dammit!" Kokoa whined, "Every club keeps throwing me out because I look like a kid!"

"Except Wrestling club. Pretty sure they threw you out because you were hanging around me. My bad." Ben apologized. He looked over to Kokoa who had tears well up in her eyes. Ben looked around and saw all the people that were around them. Thinking quickly he grabbed Kokoa and ran off away from the crowds. The two made it back to the rooftop of the school and rested on the railing.

"Why the hell did you grab me like that! I didn't give you permission to touch me." Kokoa shouted as she kept pounding Ben in the back.

"I didn't think you'd want people to see your pride so crushed." Ben explained. Kokoa stopped and a light blush was on her face, "I could see that some emotions were on the verge of coming out and...well, if it was me I know I wouldn't want to show someone unless I was really close to them." Ben looked at Kokoa who's expression that he saw earlier hadn't changed, "Come here, why don't you tell me what's up."

"Why, I barely know you." Kokoa scoffed.

"Yeah but...I'm willing to listen." Kokoa squinted and slowly made her way to Ben before taking a seat on the railing. "Good. So, what's up? What's on your mind that is strong as to nearly destroy your pride"

Kokoa brought her knees close to her chest. She stayed quiet for some time before she gained the courage to speak, "Ever since I was little, my sisters would always give me a hard time. They all treated me like a child, not even acknowledging me as a peer." she sobbed, "But not just my sisters...but my mother and father. Nobody bothered to pay any attention to me. But Moka...Moka always treated me like a peer, like an equal. Even though she was always stronger than me she always believed in us being on the same plane." she wiped the tears from her face, "That's why I have to get stronger, so that I can face my sister and show we truly are equals, not just as siblings, but as opponents too. Then...maybe then the rest of my family will accept me too."

Ben nodded and he smiled, "Good. Sounds like you have resolve. C'mon!" he patted Kokoa on her shoulder, "Let's go back to the Karate club so you can show them what's up."

"Wait, but what about what they said?"

"Fuck them!" Ben yelled out catching Kokoa off guard, "You're a fucking vampire, the strongest most hardcore number 1 badass of all monsters! It doesn't matter what you look like because you will wipe the floor with them! And if they give you a hard time...then I'll take care of it." Ben held out his hand, "Think of this as a manager-client relationship. I get you the job, you perform. Deal?" Kokoa squinted her eyes before she reached out and grabbed Ben's hand and shook. "Let's rock, baby."

* * *

Ben and Kokoa arrived back at the Karate club booth where they watched contestant after contestant fail and breaking even one tombstone. "Tell me, Kokoa. What do you notice?"

"Uh...these guys are weak?" she responded with a shrug.

"Look past the losers. What do you notice about the club members' tombstones and the contestants' tombstones?" Ben asked as he pointed to the slabs of rock.

"Um..." Kokoa thought until she saw a club member get on stage and the stones they gave him were lighter than the one's the contestants used, "Hey, his tombstones are lighter right? Does that mean his rocks are weaker?" she looked to Ben and he only smiled. "What rock would they use?"

"I bet they are using concrete for theirs but are giving people concrete mixed with a harder stone like granite." Ben mentioned. "C'mon, let's show 'em what you're made of." Ben and Kokoa walked up to the stage and the man from before tried to stop them.

"Hey, we told you we don't take kids. Just take your little sister her and--AGH!" he was cut off when Ben grabbed his collar and pulled him forward.

"Now listen here," Ben started with a menacing tone, "I know what you're doing. You're extorting naive freshman for money and you are doing it unfairly. You're cheating by using stronger stones on the contestants."

"Heh," the man chuckled, "You have no proof of this."

Ben nodded, "Hm. You're right. However, I do have proof that you guys are technically gambling. Which, if I may remind you, is illegal if you are underage. All it takes is for me to make one call to The Enforcers and your club will be shut down faster than a Crane Kick."

"What, you're gonna narc?" the man scoffed.

"Of course not. I'll just out you in the papers." Ben smiled before holding his hand, "Ben Reilly, Newspaper club."

The man slumped his shoulders in disappointment, "Ahhh, shit." Almost immediately the crowd was cheering in astonishment as Kokoa had punched through thirteen tombstones. "T-T-That's impossible. She should have-"

"Should have what? Suna Moru?" the man's eyes widened in surprise when Ben used his name.

"Ugh...Nothing." he averted his gaze as Kokoa jumped up and down cheering.

Kokoa turned to Moru with a cheeky smile, "And with that I'll be taking the 50,000." she said with a wink. She collected the money from the disgruntled club members and left with Ben and a pep in her step.

One of the Karate club members looked on at Kokoa and Ben as the walked away, "Uh...Boss? What's the plan?"

Moru growled in annoyance as he grinded his teeth, "Damn Newspaper club." he mumbled, "We break 'em! Get the Prez."

* * *

"That was great!" Kokoa shouted in excitement, "I didn't think I could actually do it, but..." she laughed and couldn't finish her sentence.

"I knew you could. So what did you learn?" Ben asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kokoa asked a confused expression adorned on her face, "I broke some rocks. I didn't learn anything." Ben sighed at her response, _Guess she didn't get the point._

"Now that was really something!" Kokoa jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. Turning around both her and Ben saw Moru and the big Karate club member who was breaking stones earlier. "What a show of strength, how about you join the club after all, huh? Could be beneficial. The club has a lot of pull around here."

Kokoa went to say something but stopped as Ben stepped in front of her, "Why the hell would she join you?" Ben asked, "Why would she join a bunch of sleazy, rude, cheating weaklings like yourselves?" he laughed, "You did nothing but give her a hard time and make fun of her size, not even thinking about how you'd make her feel. I don't speak for her personally, but why the hell would she join a bunch of low lifes who have done nothing but belittle her and steal from others."

Kokoa looked at Ben and then back to the Karate club members. _He's right. _she thought, _If I want people to take me seriously I can't let them run all over me!_ "Yeah, buzz off!"

Moru smirked, "Fine. Then I don't feel so bad about this." he whistled. As he did so the rest of the Karate club came out including their leader. The leader was a bigger man with medium short blond hair and serious looking eyes. The only thing that made him stand out from the rest of his club members was the special embroidery on his karategi. Kokoa looked at them and gulped slightly, the memory of the minotaur came flooding back and she just froze. _There's so many of them. God, why is there so many of them. _

The leader of group began cracking his knuckles, "So, you're the girly who made a mockery of our club?" he then looked at Ben and chuckled, "Newspaper trash, huh?Sorry kid, nothing personal. But we gotta make a point to the others. Can't have you Newspaper types showing us up." He cocked his hand back and launched forward at blinding speeds. Kokoa couldn't even keep track of him. He likely would have struck her down with a single punch if his fist wasn't stopped mere inches from her face.

Kokoa exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She turned to her left to see Ben caught the Karate captain's punch. He then twisted the captain's arm before shoving him away. "Kokoa, snap out of it." Ben commanded. "You didn't seem to get it before so I'll spell it out for you. You wanted to get stronger right? Well, you went up on stage and you showed the club that you're stronger than any of them." Kokoa's eyes widened, "Like I've been trying to tell you before. Strength for you is honing your skills in hand-to-hand. These guys can do that for you, sure but..." Ben looked to Kokoa and pointed to himself, "I'm a hell of a lot better than these pricks. So, I have a proposition. You train with me. I'll teach you to be faster, smarter, and more agile than any fighter out there. Then with those skills obtained you'll be able to take anybody on." he held up his hand for Kokoa to shake, "Do we have a deal?" Kokoa looked at Ben and then to the Karate club which was getting closer, "You'll get to fight me every day."

Very quickly Kokoa reached and shook Ben's hand, "Deal!" Ben smirked as he loosened his tie and got into a fighting stance. The other Karate club members began rushing the two teens. Immediately the club members were knocked back and were unprepared by the sheer force of the two.

**Music Queue: Berzerk--Eminem**

"Come on you ugly pieces of shit. I'm gonna go Cobra Kai on your ass!" Ben yelled with a laugh. The large member who was destroying stones early went for a large overhead chop, but Ben dodged it effortlessly. The man then went for high kick to which Ben rolled under followed by grabbing his plant leg and pulled him up, "SWEEP THE LEG!" While the man was airborne Ben sent a massive punch to the back of his skull. The large man landed against the ground and was unconscious immediately.

With Kokoa she had blocked several punches from the members. She redirected an attack and kneed the man in the gut. She then ducked under a punch by Moru and palmed him under his chin knocking him out instantly. Kokoa suddenly heard a crack and turned around to see the ground start to give way with a large figure jumping at her. It was Moru now in his transformed state, a mole like monster with large digging claws. She then was pulled backwards by a webline Ben attached to her. "Rule #1," he started, "Mind your surroundings!" he grabbed Kokoa and leaned back so that both dodged a roundhouse kick from one of the grunts, "Duck!" Ben shot a webline at the man who tried to kick them and spun him around before throwing him at another club member, "_Bang._" Ben then fired impact webbing and stuck the two to a tree. "Rule #2. Deal with the grunts but keep an eye on the boss."

"Why?" Kokoa asked as both dodged Moru again.

"One grunt is weak. A group of grunts is a nightmare. It's fine to take care of the boss but don't get your ass kicked by the underlings. It's embarrassing." Ben's Spider Sense went off and he quickly shot a web ball at Moru, blinding him. "Kokoa, topside!" Kokoa looked at Moru struggling and figured out what Ben meant immediately. She dashed over to the mole monster and perform an attack similar to Guile's Flash Kick and sent the mole airborne.

"NO!" Moru shouted, "I don't like flying. I like the ground, THE GROUND!" suddenly Ben jumped up next to him and smirked.

"Okay, let's get you to the ground." Ben then webbed up Moru before placing the mole's head between his legs and performing a corkscrew piledriver. When the two landed Moru's head and shoulder's were stuck in the ground and his body went limp. Ben got up and clapped the dirt off his hands and saw Kokoa staring at him, "What?"

Kokoa blushed slightly before pumping her arms, "That...That was kinda rad!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes. Ben rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. The two looked to see the Karate club captain clapping his hands slowly.

"Well done, well done. Seriously, congratulations." he laughed, "Um...well, you passed the test. So...why don't you put 'er there?" he held his hand out in surrender. Kokoa looked at him up and down with a smile. The captain returned the smile before getting decked in the face by Kokoa, knocking out several teeth and knocking him out.

Ben looked at Kokoa and sighed, "He was surrendering you know?"

Kokoa huffed in annoyance as she kicked the man while he was down, "Sorry but...he was just a prick! Look at him!"

Ben chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, "Rule #3. It's okay to hit the guy surrendering if they are being a massive prick." he then kicked the captain too, "Come on. Let's get something sweet, my treat."

"Really?" Kokoa's eyes beamed.

"Yeah, you like ice cream?"

Kokoa scoffed at the question, "Who doesn't?" Ben nodded approvingly and the two walked off to get their treat.

* * *

The next day word spread like wildfire that the Newspaper club beat the ever living shit out of the Karate club. Specifically Ben Reilly and their new member who was still unnamed. All the new students who initially had an interest in signing up for the club no longer felt that way in fear of the American of the school beating them up. "BEN WHAT THE FUCK!?" Kurumu yelled at Ben as he had already began typing up his segment for the next paper, "We lost EVERY SINGLE applicant because of that stunt you just pulled." Ben wasn't really listening to her, he was just mouthing along as she complained.

"Um...not...not EVERY applicant." the club turned around to see Kokoa in the doorway with a light blush, "If you don't mind that is."

The group all gasped in surprise, "Kokoa!?"

"Wow, I'm so glad you decided to join!" Moka said as she clasped her hands together.

Yukari chuckled, "If you wanted to join the club why didn't you just say so earlier?"

Kokoa folded her arms and looked away, "I-I'm not really here because I want to join. I'm here because Ben is my trainer and I just wanted to be closer to him." she blushed. Ben's head shot up in surprise, _Hm...phrasing, kind of?_

Yukari smiled, "Kokoa, when you say it like that...it almost sounds like a confession." Kokoa's blush got redder and redder while Moka hugged her.

"Oh, Kokoa's growing up!" Moka said as she rubbed her cheek against her sister's.

Kokoa got too embarrassed and broke free of Moka's grasp, "I hate all of you!" she shouted before storming out the door...just to quickly poke her head back through the door, "Hey, when are we training today?"

"After club work." Ben replied, and with that Kokoa left, but this time with a slight smile.

**To be continued...**

**A/N: Yeah, so I did another chapter. I didn't realize how much literal filler the two chapters this one is based off are. Like the whole spell that makes Kokoa big then a child as a side effect. It's just all weird...you get to see all the girls as lolis so...checking off fetishes I guess? But yeah, so I decided to scrap the plot of those chapters but keep the skeleton of it if that makes sense. The most irritating thing of this chapter is that nobody is given a name and it's annoying.**

**Anyways I hope you guys like the direction I'm taking this. Things only get more intense from here. Unlike earlier when I started this story I wasn't sure where it was heading. Towards the end of season 2, obviously but like...what would happen when I get there? The other stories I've done I've always had an idea for how it would end. I would get an idea for the begining then the end and all I'd have to do is write the middle. NOW I know where I'm going with the ending and I'm fucking EXCITED! I can't wait to do more chapters and with classes over and COVID fucking with life I'll actually have time.**

**Okay, favorite, follow, and make some juicy reviews. I'll see you guys next time.**


	10. Moonlit Sonata

**Dear ****Threesad,**

**I hope you find this. I have traveled many moons amongst many islands searching for the right parchment in which order to write this. Times are tough, everyone is going crazy, people want to reopen their state when they have a mortality rate to COVID of like 10%.**

**I just wanted to write you to let you know that I have received your message, a new chapter shall be released and in record time too!**

**Sincerely, theallaroundnerd.**

**tl;dr, this is the new chapter.**

**Moonlit Sonata**

* * *

**Ben**

* * *

It has been roughly a month and a half since returning to Yokai Academy. After Kokoa joined the club Ben had been spending less and less time with Tsukune and the others due to work or training. "Damn man." Ben mumbled to himself, "I've been so preoccupied with training with Kokoa I've completely forgot to apologize to Moka." he sighed, "I said some pretty messed up things. God I'm such an idiot!" he slammed his head against his desk. He then felt a hand clutch his shoulder.

_Don't worry so much about it._ Dreamqueen assured, _Eventually you'll be able to prove to her your worth. Or you could not be so petty about it and just tell her how you feel again and wait to see what she says__._

"But if I can't stand toe-to-toe against her she'll never accept me as a partner." he whined.

_Dumbass, if she cares about you do you really think she'll give a rats ass about if you can beat her or not? I mean, you're a human and she's a vampire. You can't expect to be as strong._

"It's the principle!" Ben shouted as he slammed his desk.

_Jesus, tap dancing, Christ. It's no wonder you and your brothers can't get girlfriends._

"Peter was a chick magnet, what are you talking about?" Ben groaned, "Gwen Stacy, Black Cat, Mary Jane. All steller babes!" he countered.

_All failed._

"Hey! That's uncalled for."

_So what will you do, Romeo?_ Dreamqueen asked while she sat on his desk.

"Well...first I have to apologize...somehow."

* * *

**Kokoa**

* * *

Kokoa left the school late because she had extra assignments she had to finish before returning to her dorm. _Stupid teacher having me stay after class._ she thought, _Because of her I didn't get to train with Reilly today. _Kokoa removed her slippers and put on her regular shoes when she heard a sound that was like a low growl. _A dog? _she thought, _No...heavier like a big dog, maybe even a wolf. _Kou flew over her and landed on her shoulder. _You know, it's been a few weeks now since I joined the Newspaper club. Before I joined these guys were always getting into fights. Reilly even said that was normal. But...it's been really peaceful._ she groaned and let her arms go limp, "It's so BOOOOOORING." she complained. She kicked a rock and folded her arms in frustration, "When I was looking through older editions of the Yokai Newspaper there were so many serious incidents it honestly surprised me. 'Creepy Stalker,' 'Kidnapping Art Teacher,' 'Enforcers Defeated,' 'Anti-Schoolers Defeated.'" she listed off, "And that's just last year!" she smiled before her expression quickly shifted to a frown and she clenched her fist in frustration, "But the only thing in our news lately has been all bout this stupid prankster whose been ripping the clothes off girls! That's not nearly good enough, if you're gonna do something at least make it serious! I'm on the newspaper club now, and I will not take this small stuff lying down!"

Kokoa continued walking along the pathway as she thought of how she could make a bigger splash as a new member, _I just want...like a thrilling ride, with danger!_ "Hm?" Kokoa heard heavy breathing just to the brush beside her. She turned to her left to see a large imposing figure standing over a downed female form with blood covering her torso, _Like this! A murder case like this would be the perfect story for me to bring to the club!_ Her smile quickly dissapeared as the sight before her finally registered in her head. _Wait, what the hell!? A killer? Did I just become witness to an actual murder? _

The creature turned it's head and as its form came into light Kokoa realized it was a Werewolf. "Ah...looks like you saw something bad." the Werewolf said, "Forget it, there's no reason to tell anyone what you just saw here. You wouldn't want to see yourself get hurt would ya'?" Kokoa stepped forward and tried asking what he meant, but the Werewolf quickly fled in a flash, "Don't mix yourself up in this for your own good."

"DON'T THINK I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY!" Kokoa took two steps before the girl on the ground grabbed her leg.

"D-Don't..." the girl pleaded. _Holy hell, she's alive?_ Kokoa kneeled down to check her wounds. _Despite the blood...her wounds are pretty tame. _Kokoa looked the girl over and noticed she was a bit of a tomboy with barely shoulder length hair (like a messy bob cut), glasses, and a tracksuit over her skirt.As she looked more she noticed the girl's torn clothes. Kokoa gained a disgusted expression as she thought about the wolf, _He must have been the rumored prankster._ The girl groaned, "What the?" she asked before shouting when she saw the blood on her uniform.

"Woah, calm down!" Kokoa said trying to calm her down, "Your wounds aren't that serious." _I have to tell the others about this tomorrow. _

* * *

The next day the members gathered in the clubroom for their meeting. Yukari was at the chalk board pinning together what they already knew; Kurumu, Moka, Mizore and Ruby were all sitting around Tsukune; Ben was hanging upside down from a thread, and Kokoa sat next to him studying moves Ben drew out for her with a skeleton (drawing skeleton, not a full on

skeleton). Yukari quickly slapped the picture of the most recent victim of the prankster with a ruler, "The victim's name is Kokko Nakamoto, she's a third year." she started, "Her jersey and skirt were cut with a blade, and due to the force she also sustained injuries to the chest." Yukari took a deep breath before turning to her club mates, "The serial prankster is likely the cause to this."

"One good thing came of this," Ben started getting stares from the members, "at least we know it isn't some ghost like people were saying."

"Ghost?" Kokoa asked.

"Because at first it'd hide in the fog before attacking its victims. The victims couldn't see what he looked like and have just dubbed him 'The Ghost Prankster.' Things got even worse when they started getting actual injuries on them causing most of the girls to start walking back to the dorms in a group of five or more." Ben opened a can of tomato juice and took a sip before continuing, "Pranking and being a general pervy douche is one thing. Being a pervy douche that actually hurts someone is going way to far."

Kokoa nodded, "I agree. Pranks are one thing, but hurting someone and running away? We need to make this cowardly bastard learn a lesson." The club members didn't like the idea that it necessarily had to be them to take care of the situation.

"Shouldn't we leave this to the Enforcers?" Ruby asked, "After all, we are only the Newspaper club not police."

"Hi, welcome to the Newspaper club, or as we are more commonly referred to 'Hell's Janitors' because we clean up everything around here." Ben said with a snarky tone.

Tsukune sighed and nodded, _Yeah...this definitely up our alley. _he thought, _I bet these girls will want to stop him too. _"You saw what he looked like, right Kokoa?" he asked, "What was he?"

"A Werewolf." Kokoa said with a serious tone, "He moved like a bolt of lightning. A creature so fast it is often compared to a vampire. Just judging it from the outside perspective it was definitely a Werewolf." Ben rubbed his face in frustration as he could already guess who she was going to say, "He also had an Osaka accent," Kokoa continued, "and he wore this headband," the others looked at each other as boxes kept getting checked, "and I think he wore a silver choker?" Kokoa finished. The group all collectively slumped their shoulders as they realized who Kokoa was talking about.

"Why am I not surprised." Yukari mumbled.

"What?" Kokoa asked, "You guys know who it is?"

Ben dropped down and downed the rest of his tomato juice before tossing it in the trash, "_KOBE_\--Awwwww...now I'm sad. Anyways, we have a good idea of who it is."

* * *

The Newspaper club entered into a classroom where they saw a student leaned back in a chair reading their paper. His hair was about shoulder length and was held back by a headband, he wore a suave looking pinstriped button up shirt as well a silver choker. His name was Ginei Morioka or "Gin" for short. He turned his head revealing he was actually looking at a 'special' drawing done by Ben, "Oh hey! Good timing, Ben, why did you make her so slutty? Where's the innocence you see in a woman?"

Ben grinded his teeth in frustration, "I drew EXACTLY what YOU asked for."

"Well you should have told me otherwise, this is much to slutty. She looks like she'd be with any man, but I wanna see a girl who really thinks about who she'll be with."

The group looked at Ben with disappointed expressions, "What?" Ben asked, "Porn isn't illegal, and he's 18. It's not like I sold it to Yukari or something."

Gin laughed, "I see you're all together today. How nice to see all you beautiful girls in one place."

Tsukune narrowed his eyes and groaned, "Didn't even acknowledge me." he mumbled. "Um...Kokoa, this is our Club President, Ginei Morioka. You haven't seen him because he usually doesn't come to the club room."

Kokoa stared at Gin and Gin at Kokoa. The room was silent and until Gin gave smirk and a wink, "YOU'RE THE CULPRIT!" Kokoa shouted as she lunged at Gin and began strangling him while continuously shouting 'you're the culprit.' Ben clung to the wall as he busted his gut laughing. The fact that she moved so fast to choke him out Ben found extremely amusing. Meanwhile Yukari and Moka were trying their best to unclamp Kokoa from Gin.

After a little bit of trying, Moka and Yukari pulled Kokoa off who had to be cooled down by Mizore and Ben. "Moron," Mizore began scolding as she gripped Kokoa's head with her ice claws, "You're supposed to point out the culprit AFTER you've gathered all the proof, like those Phoenix Wright games. And don't forget to use some sort of one liner or something."

Ben comforted Kokoa in a different way by rubbing her shoulders, "Way to go kid, you've got 'em on the ropes." he said impersonating Micky from Rocky, "Now when you get back up there you have to go for the gut. Make sure that you don't let that bastard breathe. Then, and only then will you finish him off." Mizore reached over smacked his face to get him to shut up. "But seriously though we can't just accuse people without solid proof. That's how you make yourself look like a jackass."

"That girl is crazy." Gin said as he got off the ground and dusted himself off. He then sauntered over to Kokoa and continuously looked her up and down, "So...you're the younger sister of Moka that I've heard about?" he chuckled, "She's kinda cute, isn't she?" Kokoa frowned, _He's so obvious. I mean, he just saw me yesterday._ Gin leaned closer and his eyes moved towards her chest before he was suddenly shoved by Ben.

"Step off, Gin. Leave the noob alone." Ben had an almost serious expression on his face. He of course had his suspicions about Gin, but it was the Gin he knew of that he was worried about.

Gin looked at Ben and then Kokoa and sniffed the air around them, "Oh...I get it." he smiled.

"What?" Kokoa asked.

"You two are sleeping together right?" Gin asked pointing at Ben and Kokoa, "I mean, she is drowning in your stench."

Ben's Spider Sense went off as he suddenly felt the murderous intent from at least one individual, "WHAT!?" the group yelled out. **_Let me out. I'm gonna kill him._**

Thinking quickly Ben 'Michael Jackson Smooth Criminaled' gin in the groin; which is when kick them in the balls, turn around and moonwalk past them. Ben then held his hands up defensively, "Okay, hold on! Let's get one thing straight...I haven't slept with ANYBODY." he defended, "I mean, I can't even sleep with myself. Also, why would Kokoa be with me? She could do a lot better."

Kurumu stepped forward and looked into Ben's eyes for a few seconds before turning around with a smug smile and a shrug, "He's right. He's a super turbo virgin."

Ben nodded, "Thanks."

"Reilly and I are training partners and nothing more!" Kokoa shouted at the others in anger.

Gin eventually stood up and laughed at the expense of the human and the freshman, "Well, anyhow, I'm Gin the club president. Nice to meet you." he held out his hand for Kokoa to shake, and she was hesitant to do so. Ben elbowed her side and she gave in, _I can't forgive him. _she thought, _I will expose who you are._

* * *

Not much longer after meeting the group called it a day, but Kokoa wasn't going to be dissuaded by Gin. So, she began to tail him and Ben tagged along as well to make sure nobody gets harmed. Kokoa and Ben hid behind a wall as they watched Gin from a distance. Eventually he called out to a pretty student and began to flirt with her. Within a matter a matter of minutes the two hit it off and left to go somewhere to continue their conversation. "What a scumbag." Kokoa mumbled, "All he does is walk around and hit on women...truly he's a woman's worst enemy."

"I'm surprised he has as much clout as he does. I mean, the guy was practically ostracized last year for being a serial peeper." Ben replied as he rubbed his chin.

The two stopped tailing him when they heard a rustling coming from a nearby garbage can, "Tailing him, huh?" the two nearly shouted in surprise as Mizore popped out from the trash, "Quite zealous of you. And you Ben...well actually, you probably would have done this too."

There was rustling in the bushes and out popped Kurumu with a leaf crown and to twigs in her hands, "You guys are investigating Gin. right? Let us in too!" she said with a big smile.

"Wha--Even you, Kurumu!?" Kokoa was dumbfounded. The two joined them and Kurumu began singing about everything they were doing.

"This is exciting," Mizore said, still in the trash can, "It's kinda like we're cops or something. Well," she looked at Ben, "vigilantes are like cops, right?"

"No, we vigilantes are chased by cops." Ben joked. The group was finally able to find Gin again, but he was in an area that would force them to get in the open, "Hm...What should we do now?" the others began looking for something they could hide in that excluded trash. Kurumu then looked towards the side of the building where some students dropped off some boxes full of supplies...big boxes.

Kurumu then turned back towards Ben with a large smile, "I think we should do what Mr. Kojima taught us about infiltration since '87." she pointed to the boxes behind her and Ben smiled from ear to ear.

"What? I don't understand." Kokoa said while looking at the boxes, "Cardboard boxes?"

"I like the way you girl's think." Ben laughed as he wrapped his arms around Kurumu and Mizore. In a matter of seconds the group were following gin while hiding in cardboard boxes, Solid Snake style. A foolproof plan that can't be stopped...except if Gin heard Ben humming the Metal Gear Solid theme. Unfortunately there was only three boxes so Ben was stuck with Kokoa...or rather, the other way around as Ben brought up the rear.

"This is so laaaaaame." Kokoa complained, "Hey, you better not be taking peeks at my panties, pervert!"

"Oh please, your sister would crush me." Ben replied, "Not that I'd mind, but it'd specifically have be with her legs crushing my head." he laughed.

Kokoa cringed, "Christ, Reilly you are a perv." The group was able to locate Gin again and set up in a location just in time to see him get punched in the face. "So...how do you guys see it?" she asked.

"How? You mean if we think Gin is the prankster or not?" Kurumu asked.

"Yes."

"Hm...Well, he's a guy that gropes a girl's tits as a hello and steals from the women's locker room..." Kurumu started.

"But he really isn't a bad guy that'd do something terrible like crime." Mizore finished.

"Yeah, I mean, he even helped me out against Kuyo, he isn't that bad." Ben added.

"Did you all forget that stealing is a crime!?" Kokoa whisper yelled. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down, "Okay, well why are you tailing him?" she asked.

"Because you smell it, don't you?" Kurumu asked gaining a confused response from Kokoa, "Aside from that incident, Gin is hiding something else." Despite getting punched Gin continued to talk to the girl, eventually they walked around the corner and the girls and Ben found it best to shed their cardboard shells, "Because he helped us out during school break. And you know how those things work, right?"

Kokoa cocked an eyebrow, "What are you good friends or something?"

Kurumu and Mizore shook their heads furiously, "No way." they said in unison. Kurumu's face became really serious, "Truthfully, we just have a bunch of grudges of that guy pent up inside us." Ben's Spider Sense went off and he figured it was Gin, but strangely he felt something on the otherside of him as well. Thinking quickly, Ben jumped up onto the roof of the building and waited for things to blow over. "We have enough of a grudge that we can't wait for the day we get him back!" Kurumu laughed. Kokoa, however, wasn't laughing as she saw the imposing figure of Gin walk up behind the girls. She tried signaling to Kurumu, but she didn't get the hint, "I mean, we're so strong now that stupid perv doesn't stand a ghost of a chance against us!"

Kurumu finally saw where Kokoa was pointing to and both her and Mizore turned around to see Gin shaking his head in disappointment. Like a bolt of lightning Gin moved his hands and made Kurumu and Mizore collapse in exhaustion while moaning in an...awkward way. The resulting actions made blood practically shoot from her nose. Ben sat on the ledge and watched from afar in astonishment, _HOLY CRAP! _he thought, _How did he do that? I want to do that!_ "That was a little lesson for you two." Gin said as he wiped his brow, "The hell's wrong with you? Spreading dirt about people like that?"

_I can't really hear._ Ben thought, he quickly pointed his hand forward and shot out a micro transceiver from his web shooter so he could hear the conversation.

"So," Gin continued, "you still suspect me, Kokoa? That I'm the serial prankster?" he smirked.

Kokoa scoffed, "C'mon, quit playing around. I saw you!" she yelled while stamping her foot, "The way you talk, the clothes you wear...it was definitely you."

Gin rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Then...didn't I give you some advice? Don't mix yourself up in this for your own good." Kokoa clenched her teeth and Gin tilted his head back towards the girl's, "Yeah...I'm the prankster." his declaration caused shock to shoot through the girls even Ben was surprised, but not in the same way the girls were. "Tonight," Gin continued, "Come alone to yesterday's spot. If you do, I'll tell you everything."

_Why would he admit it?_ Ben thought, _He hasn't been the type of guy to admit something like this before. Hell, from what I heard from Tsukune and Moka in the past the guy has a massive tell where he'll deny everything and even sneakily plant someone else to take the fall. _Ben rubbed his chin, _S__o why?_ He watched as Kurumu and Mizore began to leave, saying something to Kokoa before she left. Kokoa stood still for a few moments before leaving herself. _Maybe I should go with her._ Ben was going to drop down to Kokoa when he saw some movement from a shrub before a figure emerged and tried to run away. "Nope." Ben quickly shot his hands out and webbed the figure pulling it towards him.

As the figure got closer he realized it was a woman, _Does Gin have a stalker or something? _Once close enough Ben grabbed her by the collar to turn her around revealing that she was in fact the last victim effected by the prankster, Kokko Nakamoto. "Please, don't hurt me! There's something I must do!" Ben covered her mouth with his hand to get her to be quiet.

"You know who I am, right?" he asked and Kokko nodded, "Good...now you seem kinda suspicious sneaking around the way you are." Kokko gulped at what Ben was saying, "You're gonna tell me everything. Oh, and do me a favor and try not to make this hard for yourself. I've become pretty hardened over the last couple months, so I have no problem forcing information out of you."

"I...I can't." she muffled under Ben's hand, "If I tell anyone the truth, they'll be mad."

Ben nodded, "You know...this building, unlike the main building is only two stories high. I could drop you and you wouldn't die...but you'd sure as hell will break all the bones in your legs." her eyes widened at what he was saying.

"Y-You wouldn't."

Ben smirked and deepened his voice slightly so he sounded more like Kaine, "Try me." he then let go of Kokko's collar and her eyes widened in fear as she went into free fall. She dropped only one storey before a she felt a tug at her chest. Ben pulled her up again and placed her on the roof, "So, gonna tell me?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Kokko cried out.

Ben paced around the building for a short while before pulling out a piece of paper, "I have a theory." he started, "I don't think Gin is the prankster. But, I think I may know who is." Kokko gulped, "So, why don't you spill everything you know, yeah?"

* * *

Soon night fell and Kokoa kept her promise by showing up to previous spot alone. She walked through the brush and eventually found Gin standing alone illuminated by the moonlight. Kokoa scoffed as she walked closer, "It's painfully obvious you want to kill me. 'I'll tell you everything' yeah right. That's exactly what you say right before you shotgun a dude's brain out. You're just trying to silence me, huh?"

Gin smiled, "Nah...I will tell you everything..." he growled and his body began to transform, fur growing on his body and his snout extending out, "I will if," his body grew and burst through his blazer and shirts as his form finished, "you beat me in battle!"

Kokoa smirked, "Finally, an opponent." _Despite what Reilly has been training me in no way can I go hand to hand with a Werewolf. _she thought, _He's too fast so I'll have to use Kou!_ Kokoa held her hand out as Kou began to transform, "Let's go, Kou! RAPIER MODE!" Kokoa got into a fencer's stance and lunged herself forward and got the first hit, she then followed that up with a barrage of attacks from the rapier. _All right, I'm landing hits._ Kokoa gritted her teeth, "I'll defeat you like you asked, then you'll spill everything!"

Suddenly Gin ended up behind Kokoa moving at blinding speeds, "Pretty good, you are definitely Moka's sister." he laughed, "But you've been hitting a tombstone this whole time!" Kokoa's eyes widened in surprise, _No way. Not a single attack landed? _Gin slammed his hand forward but missed Kokoa, "Oh, so you guys showed up, huh?" he sighed as looked up to see Mizore and Kurumu come to Kokoa's aide.

Kokoa looked at her saviors with a confused expression, "Mizore, Kurumu? What are you doing here, he told me to come alone!"

Mizore began forming her ice claws and popped her neck at the same time, "Silly, there's no way you'd beat that pervy wolf on your own. We'd know he's our instructor."

"Instructor?" Kokoa asked.

Kurumu groaned, "We told you, we have a grudge against the guy. Mizore and I learned how to fight because of him." Kurumu's expression quickly turned to one of anger as she clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, "But the thing is...That bastard only did it for sexual harassment! The whole time we were training he'd touch our breasts, legs, and do all sorts of terrible things!"

"I don't even remember how many times I thought about killing him." Mizore shuddered.

Kurumu nodded and slammed her fist in her palm, "So what we've waited for is a chance. Once he commits a crime we can publically lynch him." Kurumu and Mizore smiled devilishly, the time has come. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah, with our lineup we can probably win."

There was a light rustle in the bushes and Gin's ear twitched, _Finally, she's here. _he thought with a smile. The three girls began to dash forward. _Now! _"Oh no! You don't have to kill me!" Gin yelled, really trying to ham up the spotlight, "Three is just too much, I'm gonna die!" the girls slowed down as they saw a figure emerge from the bushes. _Here!_ Gin turned his head slightly and frowned as he was grabbed around his neck and RKO'd into the ground by Ben now in his costume. "Guwah...What the hell? Why couldn't I smell your scent?" Gin asked. Looking up he saw Ben had a blazer wrapped around his waist.

"Yeah, I figured you'd find out it was me, so I asked for some help to hide." Ben said with a laugh. He removed the blazer and threw it back into the bushes, "Okay, now get out here!" he commanded.

The girls and Gin watched as girl emerged from the bushes, trembling slightly, "P-Please...don't do this!" she shouted taking a defensivestance in front of Gin, "Just stop."

The girl looked up causing Kokoa to gasp, "You're the girl from yesterday!" she yelled out while pointing, "What the hell are you doing here?"

The girl shuffled her feet back and forth, "It-It's...just a coincidence. I had heard fighting and I found you're friend hiding in the--"

"No, no, no!" Ben interrupted, "That wasn't the deal. Tell them the truth."

"Exactly!" a new voice called out. The whole group turned to see Moka, Tsukune and Yukari walking towards them. "You protected Gin, that's proof you have feelings for him," Moka continued, "and those feelings were what motivated you to commit those crimes. Because you are the Serial Prankster aren't you, Kokko Nakamoto."

Kokko gulped. "Oh hey, the whole group's here!" Ben cheered, "Now we all can witness this trainwreck together! Go on Kokko, tell them what's up. We had a deal after all."

"We already know it's you." Yukari said as she held out papers with a list of names on it, "Ben and I were smart enough to pay attention to the people affected during this case, it was just a matter of when we would crack it. All the girls on this list have one point in common. Logically these points are why they were attacked in the first place. Among victims you were the only one who didn't share that common point."

Kokko swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded to Ben. Blood began to spurt out of her forehead from out of nowhere causing shocked gasps to be spread amongst the club members, "It...seems I have no choice now." she said with a weak smile.

"Holy hell, you're bleeding!" Kokoa shouted.

Kokko held up her hand, "Don't worry about it. I'm a creature who can manipulate my blood. You see, Kokoa, when you saw me on the ground yesterday I was only smeared with this same blood to pose as a victim. I would attack the girls while hiding in a fog made with this blood, ripping their clothes as a warning to stay away from Gin."

"Stay away?" Kurumu asked, "Wait...you don't mean..."

"Because they just got in the way." Kokko continued, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "Since there were so many girls around him the only thing I could do is look at him from far away. 'If only they weren't there anymore.' 'If only those girls would stop going near him' I thought." the tears began to flow from her eyes, "I felt so worthless," she sobbed, "Even if just once, I wanted him to notice me! The common point the girls all had is that their all Gin's ex's. The only one who isn't...is me."

Kurumu stared at the girl, dumbfounded, "What was that?" she asked, "Are you crazy? Why would you go so far for a one-way crush? I mean, people got hurt!"

"Haha..." the group turned to see Gin who was standing again, face bloodied from Ben's RKO, and had reverted back to his human form, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" his face contorted as his hysterical laughter continued. "See! I told you didn't I Kokoa? There you have it, I put on an act to draw out the perpetrator. A few bumps in the road, but it worked all the same." Kokoa's eye twitched in frustration, _He used me!?_ "I actually didn't think she'd get dragged into this so easily, even with Ben. What a dumb bitch!" Kokko's eyes widened as the truth hit her like a ton of bricks.

Ben walked over to Kokko and patted her back, "I...don't want to say 'I told you so' but...Gin's a piece of shit."

Kurumu processed the information for a short time and a thought came to her, "Wait, ex's!?"

"Yeah!" Gin shouted, his laughter continuing, "I'm glad we caught her! There's loads of chicks pissed at me right now. There's Ami, from the Mochi shop. The ex-Yankee girl, Yumi. The jealous, possessive, Misako. The scary-cool Miho. Nao, Ringo, Asako..." his list continued as he laughed. The girls and Ben gained more frustrated and irritated expressions as he continued, "I mean, the girls just come to me on their own! Maybe if you take lessons from me, Ben you could get some hot babes yourself." Ben's lenses squinted as he got more frustrated, "My charm is so powerful it even made Kokko go around and attack other girls! Damn, I'm one bad dude. Do me a favor, make sure Kokko's punishment is light."

Ben walked over to Gin and gripped his shoulder, "Gin," he started, "just know that what I do right here and right now is not only because you flaked out of 6,000 yen that you owe me...but also because you are a heartless, asinine, egotistical, irredeemable douchebag who deserves absolutely everything that's coming at him. If I was like Kaine...I'd probably kill you. So uh...Go fuck yourself." Ben then cocked back and released a devastating right jab that knocked out some of Gin's teeth. Gin, however, did not get off the hook that easily as Kokoa, Kurumu, and Mizore all slammed him into the ground.

Kokko looked at Gin's unconscious body and a chuckle escaped her lips, "What...What a piece of shit. I did I ever fall for a guy like him? 'You look pretty cute without your glasses, Kokko.' _Pfft_, what a joke." Kokkoa took of her glasses and began to laugh as tears streamed down her face.

* * *

**The Next Day...**

The club members sat in the club room after another successful issues. All of them were reading the articles they wrote. "So...why didn't we publish anything about the Serial Prankster?" Kokoa asked Ben. Ben sat at a table and strummed on a guitar and blowed a bubble of gum from his mouth.

"Well," he started after the bubble popped, "The actual crime itself is only a misdemeanor. No one was seriously hurt and it isn't like she was posting nude photos online, only lightly tearing their clothes. Being a creepy jerk who rips clothes is one thing, being a creepy jerk who actually brings great physical harm to someone is another. She's the former. No need to start a witch hunt when the only real person who got hurt was Gin."

"Is it always like this?" she asked.

"No, this is quite a rare occasion, actually."

"I meant as a vigilante. Do you always have to make these moral decisions? Decide on semantics of right and wrong?"

"Oh...yeah, that's normal." Ben began to play the Final Fantasy 7 battle theme.

Kokoa thought for a little bit before walking to the window, "Have...have you ever been wrong? In your judgment?"

Ben stopped and he thought about his short time as Spider-Man, "I don't think so." he said with a shake of his head, "I think whatever choice I made, I made because I felt it was the best choice TO make. Some may see it as wrong, others right. But...that's life. Justice isn't black and white, sometimes it's a little gray and you just have to let some things slide; be it a guy who robs a store for a can of food because he can't afford to eat for the week, or a girl who holds a grudge against others because she just wants to be noticed."

"That sounds tedious."

Ben chuckled, "Yeah, that's my life. What about you? You think we made the right choice?"

Kokoa and Ben looked over to see Gin groping Kurumu's boobs followed by Kurumu chasing him around to beat the shit out of him, "I'm pretty sure that sexual harassment is much worse than some stupid pranks."

Ben smiled, "Now you're getting it, kid." Ben began playing a tune before bursting into song, "_I don't practice Santeria, I ain't got no crystal ball / I had a million dollars but I'd, I'd spend it all!--"_

**To be continued...**

* * *

**~Omake~**

* * *

**"****Training"**

**A few weeks earlier...**

Kokoa left classes early in order to train with Ben. She had done this by just ditching class because, "Who cares about that shit, this is more important." as she said. _Reilly is definitely a weird one, but he seems to know just as much if not more about hand-to-hand combat as big sis. _Kokoa smiled as she hurried to the meet up point but stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her leg, "Damn, what is that?" she seethed but continued walking. Eventually Kokoa made it to the clearing where her and Ben would meet at, "Reilly! I'm here, where are you?"

Kokoa groaned and began her training by herself, "Right, remember what Reilly told you." Kokoa began stretching out and felt that sharp pain she experienced earlier. Afterwards she began practicing her punches against a tree. Through mid motion she felt something twist and she about collapsed in pain, "AGH! Son of a bitch!"

"What are you doing?" Kokoa looked up to see Ben hanging from a tree.

"Ugh, Reilly? Where the hell have you been?" Ben dropped down and started rubbing her leg, "Ew, stop you fucking creep!" Kokoa yelled as she jerked her leg back.

Ben chopped down on Kokoa's head, "Shut up, I'm trying to help." Ben went over her leg and nodded, "Yeah, you have strained muscles." Ben grabbed Kokoa and began to princess carry her back to his dorm.

"W-Where are you taking me?" Kokoa asked, a light blush on her face.

"I have some Icy Hot in my dorm. Today we have a new lesson." Ben mentioned.

"Yeah, what'e that?"

"Rule # 21, 'Take a Fucking Break.' If you train every single day without a break you're gonna break something." Kokoa frowned as Ben walked into his dorm and sat her on his bed. Kokoa looked around at the figures that were on shelves as well as the lewd pictures scattered along his desk. "Ignore the porn." Ben mentioned as he walked back with Icy Hot in his hand. Ben handed the Icy Hot to Kokoa, "I'm not gonna rub it on you, you can do that yourself."

"Hmph," Kokoa frowned as she looked around his dorm, "I have no reason to be here. If we aren't training then what's the point?"

Ben chuckled, "You're missing the point. This IS training." Kokoa cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "Sometimes relaxing is the best training you can do. You've never really trained before so your muscles are getting all strained, that's why on days like these you just sit back and relax, then we'll get into the fights again tomorrow." Ben smiled as he pulled out controllers for the Playstation, "In the meantime, what say we beat the shit out of each other in video games." Kokoa squinted but took the controller anyway.

The first match Kokoa was still apprehensive, the second she started getting into it and by the third she was completely entranced. Kokoa looked over at Ben who seemed to be having fun and she herself smiled. _Maybe..._ she blushed, _Maybe they this guy is kinda cool._


	11. Snow White pt 1

**Snow White (Part 1)**

* * *

**July...**

Three months have passed since Yokai Academy started up again. For many, excitement was in the air as Summer Break grew closer. For others it was looking closer to turmoil. One of these such students was constantly troubled Newspaper club member, Mizore Shirayuki. Currently she was fast asleep, succumbing to her dreamscape.

**Mizore's Dream...**

Inside Mizore's dream she was back at her childhood home. Emotions she hadn't felt in a long time began flooding back to her. Then came the image of a flower, a single flower she knew oh so well. The single flower then turned into a massive field of flowers. _"This __flower is called a Shirayuki!" _she recognized the voice too, it was her own. It was her own younger voice she couldn't have been much older than a middle schooler. _"It has the same name as me, cute right?" _Mizore asked. She was talking to someone. It was a boy, someone from her past but she couldn't quite remember what he looked like. Her younger self shuffled in place with a light blush across her face, _"You wanna make a promise? When I turn 17 let's come and gather these again._ _They say that if we do that, we'll be bound to each other forever!"_

The boy looked down on Mizore with squinted eyes, _"Just stop it Mizore!" _he shouted. Mizore looked up with a confused expression, _"It's impossible...you're deciding something that's impossible!" _Mizore looked up to see his disgusted face, _"Because you are nothing more than a monster that devours us humans, aren't you!?"_

* * *

"AAAAAAAAGH!" Mizore yelled as she practically jumped from her bed.

**Present Day, 3:25AM...**

Mizore held her head and checked her clock. She groaned once she saw the time. "Damn..." she said quietly as she rubbed her throat, "I'm parched." she got up to grab a glass of water. She took a few gulps of water before banging her head against the counter, "Why...why am I having dreams of my childhood now?" she walked back to her bed and saw the letter she recieved from her mother.

"_Dear Mizore,_

_How are you doing?_

_Here it is the same as always._

_You turn 17 this year, I think it's time you come home, bring your friends if you like._

_It's time to celebrate the Coming of Age Day.__Sincerly, Mom."_

Mizore chuckled, "Seventeen, huh?"

* * *

Tsukune was called by Moka to meet up on the roof of the school, evidently she wanted to talk about some newspaper stuff as well as just hang out in general. _It's been a long time since it's been just me and Moka spending time together. _he thought. He wiped his forehead and tried airing out his shirt to keep cool, "Damn, 41 degrees?" he complained, "So much for keeping a consistent climate." Moka chuckled at his expense, "GUAGH! It's too damn hot! Way hotter than the human world would be!"

"I wonder what's going on?" Moka asked as she flipped through notes, "The people who are weak will have a hard time, won't they? Mizore will likely take today off too."

"Yeah, I heard Ben complaining all night, I wouldn't be surprised if he ducked out of classes and club today." Tsukune laughed, "Either that or he had to do commissions." Tsukune shook his head as he saw Moka fan herself, "Uhh...but are you alright? Don't you get sunburned easily because of your skin?"

Moka smiled, "I do but...I don't really mind the heat. It just...gives that 'summer' feeling you know?" she aired out her shirt lightly, "What about you? Are you okay in the heat?"

"Uhh..." Tsukune gulped he looked Moka up and down. Her clothes sticking to her body from the sweat and her body glistening from it, _She's so...sexy._ he thought.

**_Hey, hey! Eyes open!_** Moka looked up to see Tsukune still staring at her, "Tsukune? You okay?" she laughed. Tsukune gulped as the two exited the rooftop and went inside the building.

"No, no, no, yeah, if I get to see you like this then maybe I don't mind the heat." Moka gave a smirk, "Er...I mean, this! The here and now." the two laughed as they walked down the stairs, "I also like the feeling that summer is full of events, remember last summer? When we stayed in the human world and we met Ruby?"

"Fought a meta-human, a crazed witch, and Ben almost died to a faux Ghost Rider." Moka added.

Tsukune rubbed the back of his head, "The point is...it'd be nice to go to a lot of places together this summer too and create even more special memories with you." he smiled.

The smile seemed to be infectious as Moka too smiled in return. **_Oh, Jesus. _**"Tsukune..." Tsukune turned to Moka to see the sweet face she was making, "that's right let's make lots of memories this summer." both their heartbeats began to increase and the two moved closer, _**I DIDN'T CONSENT TO THIS! **I didn't consent when Ben kissed you, shut up!_

"Well that sounds perfect." the two stopped when the window they were next to suddenly flung open, "If that's the case why don't you come to my hometown, Tsukune?" the two turned to see Mizore hanging onto the edge of the window. Both Tsukune and Moka jumped back in surprise that Mizore showed up out of nowhere, "Yeah, my place is cool even in the summer."

"Mizore?" Tsukune asked, "You came to school? When and how did you get to that window we're on the second floor!"

"YO!" Ben shouted cheerfully as he popped his head up, Mizore riding his shoulders. "Don't worry, I got her. And the best part is that her naturally cold body temperature keeps my neck cool in this shitty heat." he said with a smile.

Mizore sighed, "Look, the thing is..." she reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter her mother sent her, "I got a letter from my mom. There's a little ceremony going on back home so...she wants me to come back. So uh...if it's okay with you, Tsukune and...Ben--" Ben interrupted by slapping Mizore's thigh causing her to yelp in pain, "I meant...everyone just specifically Tsukune and Ben. She said I can bring friends."

Moka blinked slightly, _Friends? Does she think of us as friends the anti-social Mizore? _"Mizore, do you really mean it?" Moka asked.

"Uh...yeah." Mizore was thrown off guard when Moka reached up and hugged her. "Whatever, are you guys coming or not?"

* * *

**The Next Day...**

It was decided, Mizore and her friends were allowed to leave the school in order to return to Mizore's hometown for their special ceremony. The students couldn't go alone so they had to be chaperoned by Ruby. "Yahoo!" Kurumu cheered, "I can't believe we're going on a trip! Step on it driver!" Yukari and even Kokoa were feeling the spirit. The bus driver laughed and puffed away at his cigar.

Tsukune sat next to Ben while the others cheered, "Hey, Ben...quick question."

"Yeah, what's up?" Ben replied.

"What's with the lame coat? It's summer." Tsukune was referring to the green coat Ben was wearing over his summer clothes. It was a coat quite similar to his brothers.

Ben nodded, "Okay." he looked at the rest of the girls and smiled; Kokoa actually socializing, Moka being herself, Ruby and Yukari both were laughing at their conversation, and Kurumu who was doing Karaoke. Ben nodded then frowned, "Things are too perfect...we're screwed aren't we?" Tsukune only gave a questioning glance, but considering things Ben has been through and what they went through as a group last year maybe it was best to not question it.

"So," Ruby started as she got up getting the attention of the group, "The Headmaster said they were in the middle of adjusting the barrier which is when the heat started rising. Seems it may take two or even three days before things are back to the way they were." she said with a smile.

"Wow, so we'll be with your parents right Mizore?" Kokoa asked, "They must be some pretty chill people." Kokoa realized what she said and smacked herself.

"HA!" Ben laughed, "It seems my influence has begun taking course within you my young padawan." Ben joked.

"What?" Kokoa asked, "Did anyone get that? Was that a reference to something?"

"He means he's rubbing off on you." Yukari laughed.

Mizore let out a light lough, _Maybe this won't be so bad. _she thought.

Kurumu took notice of the unusual change in facial expressions and began to rub it in, "Whaaaaat? Mizore is smiling? Did hell freeze over?" she laughed, "Seriously though, what's with the change? Normally you'd be happy just to take Tsukune, hell it was weird enough you invited Ben," Ben looked up shrugged his shoulders mouthing 'what the hell.' "So what'll happen next, is it gonna start snowing?"

The Bus Driver took a long puff on his cigar before letting the smoke nearly blind the window, "I can see it now, we're almost at our destination." at the announcement was met with much applause and cheering as the young teens eagerly waited to see what was ahead of them. Once through the tunnel the bus was immediately bombarded with what appeared to be a massive snow storm. The students didn't say anything as they were too shocked to believe that it was actually snowing. Kurumu groaned as she regretted what she had said not even a minute earlier. The bus finally came to a stop and the Bus Driver had the teens get off with a smirk on his face, "Heh heh heh, have a nice trip." and with that he turned the bus around and left.

"That sadistic asshole." Tsukune groaned. He quickly began holding his arms as the wind picked up and froze him to his core, "Damn it's cold!"

Ben then coughed to get Tsukune's attention and all Tsukune could see was the green coat Ben was wearing, "Well it looks like the coat you called 'Fucking Lame' has made a rather important appearance." Ben said in a snarky tone.

Tsukune held up a hand in defense, "I did not say 'fucking.'"

The girls tried huddling around Ben as he seemed to have the most warmth of them all. Kurumu looked to Mizore smiling and basking in the winter wonderland they were in, "Is this a snow land or is it a blizzard!?" Kurumu yelled out, "Where the hell are we?"

Mizore smirked, "Weather's pretty cool, isn't it?"

Kurumu's eyes twitched at the reply, "Was that a fucking pun? We're out here freezing to death and you're making puns!?" Kurumu groaned and began kicking snow, "Extremes! Why is every choice set in extremes? Too hot or too cold, defeat this creep or it's the death of the world! God dammit!" she continued her tirade of cursing surprising her friends at how foul mouth she could be. "...Furthermore, why the hell didn't you tell us that it'd be this fuck--" Kurumu stopped when she felt something warm around her. Looking behind her she saw Ben had given her his jacket.

"Better?" he asked.

Kurumu blushed in embarrassment as she realized she had lost herself in the moment, "Y-Yeah...thanks, Ben." she looked at Ben who only had on a long sleeve button up and pants, "But will you be alright?"

Ben smirked before rolling up his sleeves to show his Spider-Man costume underneath, "Special costume for winter conditions, the Thermal Suit. It's well insulted and allows for the same mobility despite being a little thicker." Ben laughed, "Better than what my brother was wearing, leg warmers, a scarf and a beanie over his costume. What a doofus."

The group began walking towards their true destination and Mizore explained what the deal was with the intense blizzard, "Just like Yokai is kept at an autumn temperature all year long, here the greater part of the year is winter. Don't worry, once we get to my home the wind will stop and the temperature will ease up." the wind picked up slightly and vision became difficult, "Stick close together, don't want to get lost." Ben looked back and noticed Yukari was having a difficult time with the wind. He reached back and grabbed her hand and Yukari clung to his arm so she wouldn't get separated.

"You know," Kurumu started, "You're being awfully nice, Mizore. Are you perhaps...planning something? You're being so well behaved and that's...well...weird."

Mizore rolled her eyes, "I don't really care what you think." a bright light shone over the ridge as they climbed to the top of the hill. Once over the entire group gasped in awe at the sight of Mizore's home village, a beautiful village glistening like ice with a large castle in the back, "Truthfully my plan was to show you this view." Mizore looked at everyone but to her surprise nobody seemed more impressed by the sight then Ben, "Come on. My mom is waiting."

"Beautiful village, beautiful view, beautiful women...I have a bad feeling about this." Ben mumbled.

The group walked down the path until they were at the front gate of the village and were welcomed by Tsurara, Mizore's mom. "Oh it's Mizore's mom!" Tsukune called out in surprise.

Tsurara nodded, "It's Tsurara." she smiled, "Mr. Aono, it's a pleasure to see you again." she looked and saw the other male member, "Ah, you must be Mr. Reilly. We didn't exactly get a good chance to greet each other the first time." she bowed.

Ben returned the gesture surprising the others as he doesn't do anything related to Japanese customs, "It's nice to meet you while I'm looking decent." he greeted, "It's also nice we can greet each other this time around without you threatening to stab my junk with an ice spire." he smiled causing Mizore to groan in embarrassment.

Tsurara let out an uncomfortable laugh, "So, what do you all think of this place?"

"Oh it's quite wonderful!" Moka said as she clasped her hands together. The others agreed, except for Kokoa she just seemed to go through the motions.

Tsurara smiled as she walked the students through the village. Ben looked around and noticed few children running around, "Most of our buildings are made with ice, and because of the barrier the sky is always an Aurora." The students looked to the sky to see feint lights dancing across the sky. Tsurara then frowned, "However, so much beauty comes with a cost. Our people have been cursed with a declining birth-rate. Not just that, but a declining population as well." she then smirked as she turned towards Tsukune, "So then Tsukune...we will have to have you and Mizore start making children soon."

Ben laughed, "Man, Tsukune, you can't escape this even from the school, huh?"

"Oh, Mr. Reilly, don't worry." Tsurara smirked, "There are plenty of young women."

Ben turned red and his body began to tremble slightly, "N-N-No that's okay. I'm not mentally ready for something like that." the girls gave him a confused expression, surprised that he would be so bashful from Tsurara's teasing...unless she was serious.

"Mom, quit teasing." Mizore called out with a pout, "There's no need to worry about me, just leave Tsukune and Ben alone." Tsurara smiled and nodded. "Well, at least we can relax now."

* * *

Tsurara lead the teens to her home where she prepared a large feast for the visitors; fish, rice, various meat, vegetables, the whole package. "So, you have returned for the 'Flower Offering' haven't you, Mizore?"

Moka swallowed some rice, "'Flower Offering?' What's that?" she asked.

Ben snickered, "It's a beautiful event that occurs once a year where you go to your neighbors home and offer them a cup of flour instead of waiting for them to come and ask."

Tsurara stared silently at Ben so he would stop talking. She went to answer Moka, but Mizore beat her to the punch, "A Flower Offering is exactly as it says," Mizore started as she put down her bowl of rice, "It's a ceremony where you gather flowers from the mountain and then offer them at the temple. They're little flowers, 'Snow Whites,' shirayukis." Mizore went to continue but stopped briefly when she saw Ben get up and walk outside, _Weird. _she thought. "Anyway, snow whites are said to have the power of matchmaking. The daughters of this land who become of age will offer these flowers to pray for a good match and lucky finds."

Tsurara smiled, "It's sort of like a 'coming of age day' that humans do." she smiled, "Tomorrow we get to dress Mizore up."

Moka and Kurumu both smiled as they thought about how cool it'd be, "That sounds so nice, I want to do that too!" Kurumu said, "I want to get dressed up and get married too!"

"Kinda early for that, huh?" Ben said as he walked back into the room.

Kurumu just gave Ben a large smug grin, "Ben, sweety, you know that I know that you would get married right now if the right woman let you." she then motioned her eyes over to Moka with her grin getting larger, "What was your goals in life? Get married, have sex, have a kid? You could literally solve two of those issues tomorrow."

"Hahahaha. No." Ben replied with a stern tone, "And I told you that in confidence."

Tsurara smiled, "Well shall we have all of you participate then? I'll lend you the kimonos and everything."

"REALLY!?" Moka and Kurumu yelled in unison causing Ben rub his ears to stop the ringing. "Heh heh. Tsukune, I hope you look forward to my beauty." Moka said with a smile while she jittered with excitement.

"Wha--!?" Kurumu puffed her cheeks in a pout, "Dammit Moka, taking advantage of the confusion like that!" she whined, "You'll look forward to my beauty more, right Tsukune?"

"I'll do my best too Tsukune." Ruby said with a blush while she held her face.

Yukari began snickering, "Maybe you should join too Ben--OW!" Yukari began whining and rubbing the newly formed bump on her head after Ben chopped down on her.

"Not happening." Ben said sternly. _I can't even get away from the last time it happened._

Kurumu was so happy about the event that she dove across the table and hugged Mizore, "Thank you so much Mizore!" she smiled, "This was what you were planning all along? You decided to invite us to your match making event." Mizore tried to break free from Kurumu's death grip of a hug so she could breathe, but to no avail, "I'm so glad, you're always so cool and quiet that I didn't really have confidence that you saw us as friends. But you really do think about everyone, huh?" Kurumu finally let go of her hug a beamed her smile to Mizore, "Even though we're rivals in live, we're still good friends, aren't we?"

A servant of sorts, perhaps like a maid or a worker for Tsurara approached her, "Tsurara-san, is it really alright to let outsiders participate in the 'Flower Giving' ceremony?" she whispered. Ben, having more acute hearing eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Oh, it's alright isn't it?" Tsurara replied, "Besides Mizore there are other children from here. We can just mix them together." Tsurara laughed.

"Well..that isn't exactly what I meant." the assistant frowned, "At this year's gathering the 'monster' will be there..." Tsurara at emotionless as she watched the teens get up from the table and go get cleaned up, except for Ben who had decided to stay back and clean up.

"Yes...that's why I want them to participate." Tsurara replied. With that the assistant left per Tsurara's orders. "Quite the naughty boy you are, Mr. Reilly."

Ben flinched as he realized he was found out. "Naughty? Please, I'm tame. If I was naughty I...probably would try to seduce every woman I see, like Tsukune." Ben chuckled. Tsurara smirked as she stared at Ben, "Though, I suppose eaves dropping is bad. But in my defense, I never had a mother to teach me right from wrong."

"So you did hear." Tsurara nodded. "Good. I think that if you know that we will be needing you and your friend's assistance tomorrow you'll be more inclined. After all...it's to protect Mizore." Ben's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded in understanding. "Now get some rest. Your assistance will be required in the morning."

* * *

That night while the others were fast asleep in their futons Mizore quietly told Tsukune that she wanted to show him something. So, in the middle of the night the two snuck out of the room. Mizore looked back at her friends and frowned slightly, "Kurumu, thank you. Please forgive me."

Not long after the two had disappeared Kurumu was tossing and turning in her bed and tried to secretly spoon with Tsukune, only to figure out he wasn't there. "Tsukune?" she asked drowsily. Kurumu looked around the room and saw that Mizore was also missing and she quickly put two-and-two together, "AAAAAAAAAAGH!" she screamed out waking up the other teens, minus Ben who had headphones blaring music.

"What is it Kurumu?" Ruby asked as she jumped from her futon.

"IT'S TSUKUNE!" Kurumu shouted waving a stick and cloth wrapped in a ball that was used to take Tsukune's place, "He's gone and Mizore is with him!"

"What?" Moka gasped, "Where would they go this late?"

Yukari began thinking of all the reasons Mizore could have asked Tsukune to leave with her so late in the night. Then it hit her, "WAIT!" Yukari shouted, "The flower! They went for the flower!" Ruby cocked an eyebrow in confusion leading Yukari to explain, "You see, I have heard of the flower before, snow whites. I just didn't want to say anything, but I've used it before in magical potions." she explained, "You see, the snow white's pollen has light hallucinogenic properties. The kind that attract the opposite sex. Since the flower in this land is known as "The Matchmaking Flower" Mizore is probably using it on Tsukune to..." Yukari went silent as the girls imagined what the two were doing alone.

"No way in hell are we gonna let that happen!" Kurumu yelled out as she began getting changed "WAKE UP BEN!!" she shouted as she took his headphone out.

"_AAAGH, Jesus tap-dancing Christ! What the fuck is wrong with you!?_" Ben shouted out in English.

**_Awe, did she interrupt your beauty sleep?_**

Ben rubbed his temples waiting for his ears to stop ringing. "What?" he asked with a frustrated tone.

"Mizore took Tsukune! We have to save him!" Kurumu shouted. Ben sighed and threw a pair of tights from spare suits at Kurumu and Moka.

"Put those on." Ben then grabbed leg warmers and threw them at Kurumu, "You'll need those too."

Ben, now in costume; Moka, wearing normal clothes as well as a scarf and Ben's extra pair of thermal tights; Kurumu, wearing her clothes as well as Ben's normal tights but with leggings to keep her warm as well; and Yukari in whatever winter clothing she had, Ben unfortunately didn't have anything that'd come close to fitting her, began rushing to stop Mizore. "My, my, just where do you four think you're going in the middle of the night?" the group stopped and turned around to see Tsurara holding what looked like a gun in her hand.

"What the hell is that!?" Yukari shouted out.

"Oh, this?" Tsurara smiled, "This here is a snowball launcher. There's a monster that usually shows up this time of year, so I'm on patrol." she cocked the weapon, "It's dangerous for all of you so please don't leave the house."

"All the more reason to leave then right?" Ben chimed in, "Mizore and Tsukune are out there right now. They are sitting ducks for the monster. If you want us to be body guards like you were saying before...maybe let us save our friends. One of which is your daughter, mind you!" Ben chuckled, "Or...perhaps you are being bias and you want Mizore to do what she wants to Tsukune?"

Tsurara frowned, "It seems...you've made a good point." she sighed, "But believe me, I truthfully didn't know my daughter snuck out with Mr. Aono. I would have stopped her had I known. I promise you."

* * *

**With Tsukune and Mizore...**

"AH-AHHHH-AHCHOOO!!" Tsukune sneezed as he followed Mizore through the cold snow.

"Sorry for making you come with me in the middle of the night." Mizore apologized as she looked back to Tsukune.

Tsukune looked at Mizore and gulped, "Hey...let's not do it after all." Mizore had an almost upset look on her face, "I mean, we are supposed to be gathering these flowers tomorrow, so why go now? I think everyone is going to be mad at us."

Mizore turned around and looked off in the distance towards the flowers, "When I was younger I would sneak off like this and spy on human towns. One day I met a human boy and we became friends. Back then too I went with that boy to gather flowers..." slight tears began to fill Mizore's eyes.

Tsukune was a little surprised, "So...right now does that mean you and him are..?"

Mizore quickly shook her head before Tsukune could finish. "When he heard I was a snow girl, he ran away and that was it." she sighed and dragged her foot in the snow making circles, "Maybe he figured that...he'd get eaten by me or something."

"No way!" Tsukune gasped. He thought back to something he remembered Ben once saying.

_"Humans are scared of things they don't understand. It's why they try to get rid of mutants, and it's why they are terrified of people like me. I can't imagine how they'd react if they found out about monsters." _

Mizore scoffed, "I guess I don't have a good taste in men. Considering the PE teacher and that boy...I feel like...I'll always be alone."

"Don't say that!" Tsukune shouted, "Those people just don't know you. Sure, you're cool and hard to understand sometimes but that just makes you who you are! But I know." Tsukune smiled, "I know the good things about you, and how you think about your friends."

"Then...will you understand my feelings?" Mizore asked, he voice trembling. "I'm...scared. Scared that if I step any further than this I'll lose something special to me. So..." Mizore turned around to face Tsukune, tears on her cheeks, "Will you please understand my feelings!"

"M-Mizore..." Tsukune was at a loss for words. Before he could say anything he had to quickly jump out of the way as the snow behind him seemed to get hit by a cannon. "What the hell!?"

"Found you, you backstabber!" the duo looked up the ridge to see Kurumu, Moka, Yukari and Ben following after them and Kurumu had some sort of gun in her hand. "I've gotta give it to you Mizore. Your plan was to distract us with all this hospitality then slip and steal Tsukune away, wasn't it!?" Ben could only rub his temples at her childishness.

"Think that if you want," Mizore shot back, "I won't make excuses."

Kurumu growled in annoyance, "Why you smug sonova--" Kurumu cocked the weapon again and aimed it at Mizore.

"KURUMU DON'T" Yukari yelled out.

"You'll hit Tsukune!" Moka added.

"Grrr! I don't care anymore!" Kurumu shouted with tears welling up, "Because I was just so stupid! To think, I was so excited that you were welcoming me! I was so happy I felt like hugging you, felt like we were close! And that was all part of your calculating!" As she was pulling the trigger Ben pushed her back elbow up and caused her to aim lower than where she was aiming, this caused the snow to hit just in front of Tsukune and Mizore instead of hitting them head on. Mizore quickly grabbed Tsukune's hand and began running away from the group. Kurumu was getting ready to fire again but Mizore made herself a ice skis. "What the hell!?" Kurumu shouted out.

Kurumu aimed the gun again but stopped when Moka wrapped her arms around her and Ben forcibly took the gun from her hands. "STOP!" Moka shouted, "Kurumu, I don't think she's trying to trick us! If she wanted Tsukune, why would she ask for all of us to be here!?"

Kurumu tried shaking off Moka, "Come on!" she grunted, "Okay fine, then why did she..."

"**GGGRRRRRAAAAARRRRR!!!**" the group stopped at the sound of a loud roar.

"What was that?" Kurumu asked.

Ben's Spider Sense blared. Looking around he noticed Kurumu reaching for the snow ball gun in his hand as well as Moka holding her head like she had a migraine. Following his Spider Sense Ben was able to make out the silhouette of a large creature not to far away from them_. __Ahhh shit._

* * *

Back with Tsukune, Mizore had continued skiing to make sure they got a safe distance away from the snow ball gun. "They aren't chasing us," she muttered, "Looks like we lost them."

Tsukune gasped when the two finally reached their destination, "Mizore this is..."

"I know," Mizore smiled, "This is what I wanted to show you. The two looked out to see a beautiful sea of white flowers. The snow whites. Mizore walked forward and crouched next to a group of flowers, "I know that...I'm betraying my friends, but...we are a very stubborn race. A snow girl's body can only bear children at a young age." Tsukune gasped slightly, "That's why seventeen is our coming of age, and once you become that age you must start trying for children right away." Mizore picked up a group of flowers and brought them to her chest, "I...I turn seventeen this year, if right now I lose you I'll have to make a family with a man from an arranged marriage." Tsukune's eyes widened at the thought.

"E...Even with somebody you don't love?" Tsukune asked.

"To continue our already dwindling species we have no choice. My mother was the same way. Although of course..." tears began to flow down Mizore's cheeks, "I'd rather take my time and choose like other girls." she handed Tsukune the flowers and shoved them by his nose, "Please understand...this is my only choice. Tsukune...if just for tonight. Please, make me your lover." Mizore took off her night gown and exposed herself to the man she loved. Tsukune's heart beat increased, _What's going on? _He thought, _My body feels...weird._

* * *

"MOVE!" Ben shouted as he webbed Yukari to him while Moka and Kurumu dove away from a slash from a massive hand. As Kurumu dove away she unloaded several shots at the giant yeti looking monster, blasting several holes in its skin.

"You got him!" Yukari cheered while under Ben's arm, "This must be that monster Tsurara was talking about." Unfortunately for the group the wounds on the creature's body began to heal almost as soon as they were put in.

"No good, it's healing!" Moka shouted.

The creature stared at the group and didn't move causing Ben to squint his lenses in suspicion. "Grrr! Out of the way monster!" Kurumu shouted out while aiming the gun at the creature, "If you don't we'll kill you!"

"**Wrong...**" the creature spoke out. "**You are not the ones I'm waiting for...**"

"I don't like the sound of that, it sounds bad." Ben chimed in. Before the group knew it the creature seemed disintegrate into chunks of ice and flew off like a gust of wind. "Oh...that's...that's nice." Ben sighed.

Moka swallowed a lump in her throat, "That was too convenient for us. I don't like it. It feels like something bad is gonna happen."

Ben patted Moka on her shoulder, "Now you're learning."

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: Annnnnd I'm back! Sorry for the unprecedented delay. I wanted to finish my other story first and I ended up doing 4 chapters in like a week. After that I was just burnt out. That led to me making a smut and...boy was that weird. Then work actually started making me...well...DO work so I felt I just needed a break.**

**Also I was playing through Persona 5 Royal, so I have some leeway right?**

**Anyways, with the other story on I am likely gonna take a quick break on that and do a few chapters in this story. At least up to when they go back to the human world for training. I have some good ideas, oh boy do I have some good ideas, but we'll have to wait for at least a chapter...maybe 2 before I reveal my plans. Fuck, it's such a genius ides too! Hahahahaha!**

**Anyways, see you guys next time. Follow, favorite and hit me with some reviews.**


	12. Snow White (part 2)

**Snow White (Part 2)**

* * *

Tsukune stared at Mizore with her bare body right in front of him, his mind doing gymnastics. _Do something. No don't! Maybe I should...NO! Don't you fucking dare, man! You cannot do this! That would be taking advantage of her!_ Quickly, with half his mind in his head and the other half in his pants, Tsukune grabbed Mizore's night gown and placed it back on her. His nose was bloody and his mind was phasing in and out of reality, but somehow Tsukune pulled through. "Nope, I didn't see." he lied to himself, "I didn't see so it's okay!" is what he told himself on the outside. _Cherries! Cherries! Cherries! They looked like cherries atop ice cream scoops!_ Is what he was thinking on the inside.

"Hey, are you alright, Tsukune?" Mizore asked, her expression as cool as ever.

Tsukune held on to Mizore's shoulders to catch his breath, "What did you mean...when you said 'just for tonight'?" Tsukune asked. "You have to tell me clearly or I won't understand." Tsukune shook his head in disbelief, "I mean, a law of the province where you have to marry someone you don't even love? Are you already under that law? Why is it 'just for tonight'?"

Mizore sighed, "Why do you have to think so much about it?" she asked, "It's no use though right? I can't go against the prophecy of the snow priestess."

Tsukune cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "Snow Priestess?"

Mizore nodded, "Uhuh. She's the elder of the province said to have lived over 100 years. She is supposed to be a prophet who speaks to god." she explained. "The province was also made because of her prophecies. Without her the snow women likely would have gone extinct." Mizore clicked her tongue, "Actually our land is the final stronghold for snow women."

"So...these marriages..." Tsukune started and Mizore nodded.

"Yes, I think they're decided from her prophecy as well. Nobody disobeys it because here continuing the survival of our species is more important than personal romance." Mizore explained. Mizore then pulled a flower up and held it near Tsukune's face, "But Tsukune, don't misunderstand, this isn't part of it." she smiled, "You're the only one I want to be bound to." Mizore leaned close and began putting her weight on him, "This is what I want from the bottom of my heart." Mizore held the flower by Tsukune's ear. Again Tsukune's body felt heavy. "You feel it, don't you?" Mizore asked, "Because the snow white's scent makes love boil inside you. Please don't think badly of me."

Tsukune's body went limp and Mizore landed on top of him. _If I do something like this, Kurumu and the others will never forgive me. _Mizore thought, _Do I care? Even if I lose everything right now I only want Tsukune._ "You don't have to think about it anymore." Mizore said as she straddled Tsukune and opened her top again, "Just touch me, take me, Tsukune."

Tsukune looked at Mizore for a short while before moving his hand near her face. "How could you say that?" he asked, "If you are sure about that...then why is your face so sad? Look. Look how much you're trembling." Tsukune placed his hand on Mizore's cheek as she had tears flowing down, "You look as if you'll shatter if I touch you."

Mizore shook her head in denial, "You're wrong! I'm--" before Mizore could finish her sentence she was cut off by the sound of what sounded like an explosion or a blizzard. Before Tsukune knew it Mizore was taken from him.

_What is this, an avalanche? _Tsukune thought as the high gust of wind and snow blew over his body. _Wait...it's turning into something!_

"**Finally, I've found her. The girl of the prophecy.**" the figure that emerged from the blizzard said as she held Mizore between her arms.

"Wait!" Tsukune shouted as he tried to crawl to the mysterious figure, "Let her go, dammit!" before he knew it, Tsukune had passed out likely due to hypothermia.

* * *

Tsukune awoke several hours back in Tsurara's home. "Tsukune..?" Tsukune's vision slowly returned and he could see his friends minus Kokoa, sitting around him to see he's okay.

"Uhh...everyone?" Tsukune groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Hey, you're up and moving again." Ben said as he helped lift Tsukune's head. "Here, take these." Ben grabbed some tylenol and gave them to Tsukune with a cup of tea. While Tsukune drank the tea Ben kept an eye on him. It was utterly silent between the teens. "Tsukune...Where's Mizore?" Ben finally asked.

Tsukune's eyes widened and his expression quickly saddened. "She...she isn't with you guys?" The others looked at each other and shook their head.

"We only found you." Ben said as he scratched the back of his head. "We were actually hoping you would have remembered, but it seems that won't be the case." Ben tried to lean back and think of ways he could track Mizore.

"I think...she was taken." Tsukune said causing Ben to shoot back up into a sitting position and the girls straighten up a little as well. "I'm...not sure but it was like an avalanche, there was ice and snow...and then Mizore was taken. I couldn't quite make out who or what it was but...it looked like a woman."

"That doesn't exactly match the description of the monster we saw earlier then." Kurumu mumbled.

"Don't rule anything out," Ben mentioned, "I've been in this long enough to know that you'll never know what your enemy will look like or who they're connected too." Ben laughed, "Like, seriously, I got a buddy who looks like a normal guy, but he transforms his body into a grotesque monster with giant teeth and a long tongue. Dude's frightening, but he's pretty solid so we chill together."

The group heard a door close behind them and saw Tsurara enter the room with a slight frown and a phone in hand. "...I see. Thank you." she ended whatever conversation she was having and turned to the teens with a sigh, "I'm sorry. It seems my daughter has been abducted." _She seems awfully calm for someone who's daughter was taken, Liam Neeson she is not. _Ben thought. "The abductor was the snow priestess herself." Tsurara explained leading the others to gasp. "It seems Mizore will be in her custody for the time being and that everything is fine."

"Custody? What the hell for!?" Tsukune asked angrily.

"Yeah, I'm with Tsukune, this sounds like bullshit." Ben added.

Tsurara smirked slightly, "Yes, well, when I asked about that she said: 'The boy she was with was attacking her and removed her clothes'." Ben snorted while the girls groaned at the thought of Tsukune having his way with Mizore.

"Just what the hell were you doing with her Tsukune!?" Kurumu yelled out.

Tsukune was practically backing up into a corner, "W-W-Wait, it's not what you think! It's a little hard to explain. BEN, SAY SOMETHING!"

"Are you all stupid?" Ben spoke up, "Have you met Tsukune? The guy won't make any moves like that. He's too considerate!" Ben defended his friend causing the girls to think about the situation. "Fucking bullshit," Ben mumbled, "I get blue balled from a response and he gets women throwing themselves at him."

"So nothing happened?" Tsurara asked, leaning closer to Tsukune, he expression seeming sweet.

"NO!" Tsukune defended by waving his hands in front of him, "We didn't do anything."

"WHY NOT!?" Tsurara asked her face becoming psychotic. "Why didn't you do it, coward!?" _Well, that was definitely a switch I wasn't expecting. _Ben thought. Tsurara turned around and returned to her usual sweet expression, "Sheesh, it's too bad you're still so innocent. I may have to have Mr. Reilly take your place." Tsurara turned from the group and cupped her thumb and index finger to her chin.

"What's up?" Ben asked as he suddenly appeared in front of Tsurara hanging upside down. "Don't try and ignore me, this whole thing stinks and you know it." Tsurara bit her lip before nodding.

"Come, I think it's time I told you all what the ceremony is really about." Tsurara said as she began moving to the next room.

* * *

"WHHHHAAAAT?!?" Kurumu yelled out, "Marriage partners are decided by prophecy!?" the group of teens, including Ruby and Kokoa, sat around a table as Tsurara poured them tea and explained the truth behind the Flower Gathering.

Moka frowned, "That...that's so.."

"Everyone in this land has done it." Tsurara mentioned. "And this is a secret that only the adults know about, the 'Flower Offering' taking place tomorrow is actually a front for the Snow Priestess to give her prophecy." she smiled.

"That's bullshit!" Ben yelled, slamming the wall behind him, "There is no such thing as prophecy. You can't see the future because the future is ever changing. You're just forcing women to get married to whoever. Arranged marriage is fine and all, but at least have the balls the say it for how it is instead of lying straight in everyone's faces!"

"Well, even so," Tsurara started, "being with Tsukune was her 'last bet' at love. But of course, due to his cowardice it seems that bet was ruined." Tsukune hung his head in shame while Ben scoffed. "'Continuation of the species takes precedence over one's personal romances' that is the law that was born in this land."

"You're wrong." Tsukune said quietly as he looked up to Tsurara, "The reason Mizore took me away wasn't some sort of 'last bet' or easy way out. I can tell because she was crying! She didn't know what to do." Ben clenched teeth and his fists as he listened to Tsukune, "I'm sure that she was pleading for help. She wanted me to do something but..." Tsukune had tears drop down his face, "But I..."

Tsukune was cut off by the sound of Kurumu slamming her hand on the table, startling the teens and waking up Kokoa. "It doesn't matter, whatever the reason, what she did was betrayal. Their laws and stuff...they have nothing to do with us." Tsukune gasped at what Kurumu was saying, "So she has to make it up to us. And until then I'm not going to let her enjoy her cushied married life."

Moka and Yukari smiled, "So you mean?"

Kurumu chuckled while she stood up in a heroic pose, "That's right! I'm bringing Mizore back to school with us, by force if necessary!"

Ben clapped his hands together and laughed, "And like that the monsters have woken up to justice! Thank God, I thought I was gonna be in this on my own."

"Ben?" Tsukune asked.

"What? You thought I was gonna sit back while you told us all of that? Hell no! Mizore's our friend," Ben pounded his chest, "and...and you guys are like the family I never had. Mizore is like my sister, and I'll be damned if I lose her!"

Tsurara smiled at the teens, "So, you'll take Mizore from the Snow Priestess. That is your plan? If so, do you mind if I lend some help?" the teens looked at her with surprised expressions, "The Priestess' shrine is quite large and the security is tight. If you want to get in you'll need a solid plan of attack."

"Plan of attack?" Ruby asked. Tsurara nodded and grabbed blueprints for the Priestess' shrine compound. Ben, showing intrigue, was quick to get above the table and scan the blueprints to his phone.

"First," Tsurara started as she placed pins in the map, "you'll need two teams. You'll need a 'Diversion Squad' and a 'Covert Squad'." Tsurara took a blue pin and put it on a different side of the map, "Mizore is most likely in the East Wing's guest rooms. She then moved one of the squad pins to the opposite side of where Mizore's pin was, "So the Diversion Squad will go to the opposite end of the building in the West Wing and make a big commotion. The security will focus on the West Wing, the Covert Squad will then bypass the security and sneak into East Wing and rescue Mizore. The Diversion Squad can simply make their escape through the western exits."

"That's amazing!" Tsukune exclaimed.

Ben leaned over the map and went over the plan repetedly in his head. "I think I can make things easier for Covert Squad." he said with a smirk. Ben placed his finger on the map and traced a dark blue line, "This here is a ventilation shaft, right?" Tsurara nodded, unsure where Ben was going with this, "It leads outside, which means I can get in from the East Side and take out guards before the alarm. That means I'll be able to help both squads AND join Covert Squad to finish the job."

Tsurara gasped slightly, "Mr. Reilly, this...isn't your first time doing this is it?" she asked.

Ben smirked, "What, infiltrate a compound? Eh, maybe three or four times."

Tsurara smiled in return, "Well then, I suppose the only thing that's left is protection!" Tsurara moved the bookcase behind her to show a massive arsenal of weapons. Ben looked at all the guns and gulped, especially when he saw a white rifle with a familiar "S" logo on it.

"Oh...Sable Tech." Ben groaned.

"Oh? You know Sablinova?" Tsurara smiled, "She's just so grand isn't she." she said with a smile and clutching her face.

_One mystery at a time__. _Ben thought, "No...Silver Sable and I...aren't always on the best terms. Story for another time." Ben rubbed his head, "So what, you a mercenary or something? Is that why you have ties with Sable?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." Tsurara laughed, "Sablinova-san and I met on different terms, I'm just a gun enthusiast and she's my supplier. The truth is I had always dreamed of being a spy." _Oh, that's why she had a plan ready. That also kinda explains why she wanted to be friends with Sable. _Tsurara checked the weapons and handed them to Moka, Ruby and Kokoa who would be the Diversion Squad.

"Kokoa, I'm not even playing right now, if you keep pointing that gun at me I'm going to snap your fucking wrist." Ben seethed.

"You'll execute the plan tomorrow," Tsurara continued, "It'd be best if you took advantage of the ceremony they'll be having. You do that, then you'll be able to get in easily." she looked around and focused on Tsukune, "That leaves one last loose end."

* * *

Within a couple of minutes the group of teens and Tsurara stared at Tsukune who was wearing a wig. "W...Why do I have to wear drag!?" he complained, "Why can't Ben do it? He's actually done it!"

"Because I'm like twice as thick as you are, also I'm sneaking in already so..." Ben laughed.

"Only women are allowed to participate during the ceremony." Tsurara explained while stifling a laugh, "But it'll be fine, you have really nice skin so if you put on some makeup you'll look really pretty!" Tsurara began putting makeup on Tsukune while Ben went over the plan with Kokoa again because she wasn't really paying attention.

"Why are you helping us?" Tsukune asked as Tsurara put blush on his face. "I mean isn't what your doing considered betrayal?"

Tsurara smiled lightly, "Tsukune are you aware...that Mizore's partner has already been chosen?" the teens gasped in surprise, "From tomorrow they will take her to him and begin her bridal training. I also..." Tsurara stopped and sighed, "I don't understand the priestess anymore. And it was so unnatural how the orders came suddenly. There is something behind this, and I can't believe her." Tsurara frowned. "As a mother there is nothing I want more than my daughter's happiness, and right now she is likely in the shrine crying. Alone, and confused. What she needs right now isn't laws and prophecies..." Tsurara turned to face the teens with tears running down her face, "she needs all of you. Please, save Mizore."

* * *

**The Next Day...**

Today was the day, the 'Flower Gathering' where young women who are of age travel to the clearing full of Snow White flowers and pick them in hopes of gaining a partner. The day, as Tsurara explained, is just a front for the Snow Priestess to give her prophecy. The girls and Tsukune in drag traveled with the large group of young maidens to the shrine.

Ben in costume stuck to the wall on the East Side of building near the air vent he'd be entering from. Ben pressed against his ear to radio in the rest of the group on communicators Tsurara had given them, "Check, check, do you read me? Sigh if you do." there was a large sigh from the five girls and Tsukune on the other side, "Good. I'm beginning my infiltration. Mission Start." Ben pressed his palm against the vent and used his adhesive ability to stick to it, then he quickly ripped the small grating off like he was ripping off a band aid, followed by frisbeeing it into the trees below. Ben squeezed his body into the vent and began crawling through.

_"How are you doing, B...Spider-Man."_ Tsukune whispered.

"Cool as a cucumber." Ben replied as he crawled over some pipes, "Feel like Solid Snake. Dah Nun, dun dun dun. Dah Nun, dun dun dun." Ben hummed the Theme of Tera.

_"B...Spider-Man,"_ Tsukune started, _"You know we all can hear you, right?"_

"Oh yeah, I know. It's on purpose." Ben continued humming the theme until he heard one of the communicators shut off, "Was that Kokoa?" Ben laughed.

_"Uh...yeah."_

Ben could only laugh in response, "Okay, entering the shrine now. I'll clear some of the guards out. Good luck girls." Ben reach the vent covering that led inside and quietly pushed it off. He then climbed out and shot a webline to the rafters. "_Okay, let's see, which of you naughty ladies are packing heat...Ugh, why'd I phrase it that way?_" Ben took a deep breath and tried to focus, "_C'mon focus your Spider Sense Ben. Who is a danger._" Ben closed his eyes and was eventually was able to get a mental image of guns in people's kimonos. Opening his eyes he could see some people near him, the rest must have been on the other side of the wall or further down the hall. "_Showtime._"

A woman walked underneath the rafter Ben was sitting on and he made his first move. Aiming his hand down he shot a webline and attached it to her back, he then yanked her up and used his other hand to shoot a webline at the back of her head. He yanked back, causing the woman to slam her head against the side of the rafter, knocking her out instantly. "Nighty night." Ben whispered as he Web Zipped to the wall further down the hall and began crawling, ready to take out any guard he sees.

* * *

Tsukune and the girls stood in rows in a great hall in the center of shrine while an older woman gave a speech about the Flower Gathering. "Congratulations," the elder said on the speakers, "Today, you have made it safely to the Flower Gathering. The Flower Offering is the coming of age for us snow women." the majority of the young women in the crowd seemed pleased about the big day, "In essence, today all of you will at last join the ranks of adulthood."

Tsukune looked down the row to see Ruby, Moka and Kokoa break ranks and walked over to some of the older women. "Excuse me," Moka whispered, "Um...we kinda have to use the restroom." the lady groaned and led the trio to a nearby restroom.

"Tch, what's wrong with you girls?" the lady complained while they were in the bathroom, "And in the middle of the ceremony. Shouldn't you have gone beforehand?"

Moka bowed politely, "Forgive us but...this was the only way." the older lady looked at Moka with a confused expression, "You see...yesterday one of our friends was abducted. Our friend's name is Mizore Shirayuki. She was taken by the Snow Priestess who lives in this shrine. So again, please forgive our rudeness." Moka said as she and the other two reached into their kimonos.

"What are you saying?" the older lady asked.

Moka pulled out dual SMGs, Ruby pulled out a pistol and Kokoa pulled out the snowball launcher (she got in trouble for aiming the gun at Ben too many times). "We have come to claim Mizore." Moka stated with a frown.

* * *

In the grand hall with Tsukune, Kurumu and Yukari, the group of girls heard a loud explosion coming from somewhere in the building. The explosion was followed by gunshots, causing the girls to get into a mass panic. "No way, are those gunshots!?" a girl yelled out. Mass hysteria ensued throughout the rest of the hall, even the elders couldn't bring order back to the ceremony.

"Sounds like they started." Yukari smirked.

"Let's get moving. We have to save Mizore." Kurumu said with a determined tone. The two looked to Tsukune and even he had the same determined look. The trio ran up the steps of the East Wing with the sound of gunfire off in the distance. Eventually they hit a hallway where they had to hide otherwise they'd get caught. "Why aren't they moving?" Kurumu asked.

"Ben," Tsukune called on his communicator, "We're in a bit of a bind."

_"Don't worry, I see you guys__." _Ben replied.

"See?" Tsukune asked, "Where the hell are you?" Suddenly the trio looked into the hallway to see one of the guards get webbed against the wall. When the other two went to investigate they were stopped when a red blur slammed down on top of the two of them and knocked them out. Ben then stood up and webbed the two to the ground to ensure they don't get up too early. "Holy shit, Ben." Tsukune said somewhat impressed.

"Like I said, at least three or four times." Ben shrugged. "Let's keep moving, the guest room should be this way."

The group ran for the large staircase that would lead them to Mizore. Along the way the group looked up to see multiple women webbed to walls or hanging from rafters. "Kinda weird that they didn't notice their friends all knocked out."

"You'd be surprised how little people look up." Ben replied with a chuckle.

Eventually the group made it to the final leg of the trek as the group ran up the giant staircase that led to the room Mizore would be staying in. _"This is Ruby, how is your guys' side of the mission?__" _Ruby called ok the communicator, _"We're kinda losing control on our end. We drew too much attention. Even with the break we got from Ben our route looks completely sealed. We may not be able to buy you as much time.__"_

"Got it!" Tsukune replied, "We'll have to be fast." there was a click and Ruby hung up the call. "What do we do now?" Tsukune asked.

Yukari cheered slightly, "Don't worry, Mizore's room should be just up ahead." The group was getting close to Mizore's room when they heard loud walking sounds behind them. Even Ben's Spider Sense was blaring.

"Hahaha, I was wondering why it was so noisy in the West Wing. So...this was the plan, was it?" the group turned around to see a tall man who looked to be in his thirties. He had a heart shaped kind of muscular face, dark slicked back hair, dark jeans, a button up shirt and a trench coat on top of it. "Don't worry," he smirked, "I'm Miyabi Fujusaki. I'm not from here and I have no intention of fighting you." he looked around at the teens, "I suppose that you're here for Mizore Shirayuki?"

"You know Mizore!?" Tsukune asked.

The man smirked, "I'm sorry but...I had heard that last night, Mizore Shirayuki had her heart and body stolen by a certain man." the teens stared with wide eyes and Ben clenched his fists. "You see, at the moment in order to revive her lands the priestess is entering a cooperative relationship with a certain organization. As proof of their friendship the Priestess of this land is giving their strongest girl as a 'hostage' to the organization. The name of that hostage is Mizore Shirayuki." he chuckled, "So you running here now, it's already too late. Most likely she'll never come back."

Yukari gasped, "W-What the hell is that about? Wasn't her marriage decided already? So...the priestess using her like that..."

"She lied." Ben said, anger spewing out of his voice, "She lied to protect her skin! Giving up the life of a young girl, fuck that!"

Tsukune collapsed to his knees and removed his wig with a completely shocked expression on his face, "It...can't be true. Mizore...for a reason she doesn't understand, to a man she doesn't know?"

Kurumu clenched her teeth and charged the man, grabbing him by the collar of his coat, "Why do you know all that!?" she shouted, "Telling us about a girl's pain with such a cool face. What the hell are you!?"

"Stop, Kurumu." the teens turned around and gasped at the sight of Mizore standing atop a set of stairs, "Don't come...you...you can't come." she cried.

"Mizore!" the teens cried out.

"It's like that man said...I've...been dirtied. So I can't go back with you anymore." When Ben heard that he nearly snapped. He remembered what Mizore went through last year, hearing this made him almost irrational as the only thing that kept him from not pounding Miyabi's face in was basic breathing techniques. "My body...it isn't good enough for Tsukune anymore. So please leave, forget about me and never come back..." Mizore's body began to fall apart in chunks of ice.

"It's an ice doll!" Yukari cried out, "She must have known she wouldn't have seen us again and she is using this to say goodbye." tears began to flow down Yukari's face as the ice doll broke apart.

Tsukune rushed up the stairs to the ice doll and held out his hand as a sign of assistance, and also as a plea. "What are you talking about?" Tsukune said with a gentle smile, "There's nothing dirty about you, Mizore. I'm the one who's bad, everything's my fault! But I'll make it up to you, I'll do everything I can. So let's leave...let's leave together!" Tsukune reached out for the ice doll's arm, and it did the same but when they touched the ice doll's body shattered to hundreds of pieces.

"Heh heh heh." Miyabi laughed, "Ahahahahaha! Dirtied? Goddamn! That's the problem with kids today. I mean, you think I'd really sleep with her? Me!? She's just a worthless little girl."

"What was that?" Tsukune asked.

"Yeah...mind repeating that part, punk?" Ben growled.

"I just messed with her a bit, I'm not into kids." Miyabi chuckled, "Her crying and freaking out over a stupid kiss was a massive turn off. And having the nerve to say she was dirtied? Get over yourself, bitch!"

"YOU BASTARD!" Tsukune shouted, Ben could see a slight tinge of red in his eye, "YOU TOUCH MIZORE AND YOU DARE TALK TO HER THAT WAY!?" Tsukune stood up and began running down the stairs directly towards Miyabi.

"Wait...you were a guy?" Miyabi asked with a bored expression, "Guess I don't have to hold back." he smiled. Once Tsukune got close enough Miyabi dodged his attack and clothes lined him to the ground.

"TSUKUNE!" Kurumu cried out, she tried to slice at Miyabi but he snatched her wrist and began to squeeze, "AH! NO!"

"That girl is an important hostage for our organization." Miyabi explained, "But don't worry, once she's mature and well trained to my liking, I'll take gooood care of her."

"KURUMU, DUCK!" Ben shouted. With full force Ben sent a left hook and to Miyabi's surprise it was stronger than he intended. Ben's punch shattered the right side of Miyabi's jaw and even dislocated it. Miyabi wasn't through with the punishment though as Tsukune had gotten up and chopped the man into the ground, creating a small crater. "_Fuck, you_." Ben spat. Ben saw the slight glow of Tsukune's locket and nodded.

"Let's go." Tsukune said as he cracked his knuckles, "We don't need to bother with him."

* * *

Finally, the group was able to make it to Mizore's room. And with the help of Ben shoulder ramming the door open, they were inside, "MIZORE!!!" the shouted in unison. The bedroom was completely covered in ice and Mizore stood atop the windowsill with the window open looking like she was going to jump.

"You dummies," Mizore smiled with tears flowing down her face, "I told you not to come."

Ben stepped forward slowly and removed his mask, "Mizore...look at me. Don't do this, this isn't the way!" The others couldn't tell because he had his mask on, but now with it off they could see Ben's eyes were puffed red and tears were on his face, "I've been in a similar situation as you. I had all that pain bottled up inside and it tore me apart! Don't be like me! You once told me that we have the same eyes, you remember? I still believe that we do. Your eyes show just how strong you are. You and me, we are the same." Ben reached his hands out as he slowly stepped forward, "So please...just, come into my arms."

Mizore gulped and continued to cry, "I'm so sorry, Ben...but I'm not strong like you." Ben's eyes widened as Mizore fell backward.

"NO!" Time seemed to slow down as Ben pointed his arm forward and shot a webline, it traveled to where Mizore was, but it narrowly missed attaching to her. Suddenly, Kurumu shot forward with her wings ripping out of her shirt and her jumping out the window.

"STUPID!" Kurumu shouted as she dropped down and caught Mizore before using her wings to help her gain altitude again.

"No..." Mizore whispered, "Don't help me. I betrayed you. And after all that my lips were stolen, I was violated. Now I can't face anyone." she cried.

Kurumu smiled softly at Mizore, "Mizore," Kurumu whispered before she herself pushed her face forward and locked lips with the snow girl.

"W-What the hell are you doing!?" Mizore shouted out in surprise, "What the hell was that thing with your tongue?"

"See," Kurumu smiled, "A kiss isn't so bad."

Mizore cried into her friends shoulder as they flew up, "Stupid...don't say that so easily. It was more than a kiss. He...He got on me with so much strength, he touched me everywhere...I couldn't resist!" she cried, "My chest...I was scared! I was so scared Kurumu!" the teens breathed a sigh of relief as Kurumu and Mizore flew back through the window and landed on solid ground. Once inside the two saw Ben on the ground clutching his chest.

"Are you okay?" Kurumu asked.

"Yeah just..." Ben stopped to cough, "I'm fine. Good catch."

"I'm sorry." Mizore apologized.

"It's fine, as long as you're safe." Ben stood up and hugged his friend.

_"Guys, can you hear? It's Ruby!" _Ruby called out on the communicators, _"You have to get out quick! The enemy is much stronger than we think! We won't all be able to escape!"_

Ben's Spider Sense went off and he quickly put his mask back on, "We aren't done yet!" Ben focused his Spider Sense and he was able to hear the faint sound of footsteps coming to the door. Taking a deep breath he was able use his Spider Sense to determine that there was at least eight men rushing to the door. Focusing more he sense the cocking of guns for at least half of them. "Enemies." he told the others, "Eight at least. Four with guns, the other four...unsure. We still need to help Moka, Ruby and Kokoa." Ben nodded, "You guys go down and help them, leave these jokers to me."

"Ben..." Mizore reached her hand out but he cupped his hands between his.

"You guys don't have to worry about me, this is literally my day job." Ben chuckled, "Now go." he said sternly.

* * *

Just outside the door eight armed men dressed in black suits like they were the FBI got ready to breach the room. "Weapons check." the leader commanded. There was four men with pistols, two with assault rifles and two with shotguns. "Shotguns, blow the doors off." the two soldiers walked up to the door and shot the hinges off. "BREACH!" the soldiers kicked the doors open only to find Spider-Man standing in the middle of the room with his hands in the air.

"Hiya fellas," Spider-Man greeted, "Why the force? You could have just knocked?"

The leader pressed against his ear piece, "We have 'em. Proceeding to detain." Spider-Man laughed as some of the men got closer, "What's so funny, bug?" the leader asked before putting his finger to his ear again, "What's that? What'd I say? 'Bug' he looks like a bug. I don't know how to explain it, he is wearing a red body suit with a black spider on his chest." he complained, "What's that? You're not making sense, did you say 'dangerous.'"

"Oh man, what bad luck." Spider-Man laughed, "Seriously, what are the odds of having and Eight v. One fight and every single one of you drawing the shit end of the stick." Spider-Man chuckled as his lenses squinted. He knew he had already won.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: I told you I'd get back to this. Now I'm excited as we get to introduce a top tier waifu in the next chapter. Oh, also next chapter is an action chapter. So strap in! The end of the Snow White Arc is coming up!**

**Be sure to Favorite, Follow and send me those sweet, sweet reviews.**


	13. Fairy Tail

**Quick Update: This is comoletely unrelated to anything in the chapter...But I think I am the only fanfiction author on this site that has done the entirety of the first season of Rosario Vampire without...you know going on to other works. In fact, I believe I am the only author that has made and/or is actually doing season 2 (assuming we mean manga and not the bullshit anime)****Also, also, I am one of like three authors that has made it at least through Volume 3 of RWBY with a Spider-Man crossover. I'd probably be like the only one but KingFrancisX is a fucking mad man at writing, lol. That dude writes like three chapters a day I swear he's like the Stephen King if fanfiction. The other one is Avatar Connor who...I'm pretty sure has made it past V3...Eh, he's close enough. I think there was a Jaune Arc as Spider-Man story too, but I'm unsure so someone correct me if you know. Anyways I just wanted to flex the few achievements I have, that RV one is a solid flex though, I may not be as well and articulately written as Bats and Spiders, but dammit I finished!**

* * *

**Fairy Tail**

* * *

Moka, Ruby and Kokoa had managed to distract the security just like they were supposed to, they even thanked Ben for taken out multiple guards, however, despite all that they were pinned down and had no means of escape. "Dammit, this is such bullshit!" Kokoa shouted as she ducked into cover to avoid getting shot at, "You guys get the real stuff and all I get is this dinky little toy gun!"

Ruby blind fired at the guards who were shooting at them in an attempt to get them to back off. Ruby then placed her hand on her ear and made a call, "This is Ruby, how is your guys' side of the mission? We're kinda losing control on our end. We drew too much attention. Even with the break we got from Ben our route looks completely sealed. We may not be able to buy you as much time."

_"Okay, we'll move quickly. Thanks!" _Tsukune replied on the other side.

"We have to fall back!" Moka shouted, "We can't move forward and it'd be pointless to stay here." The trio fell back and eventually made it back to the grand hall.

"Oh, greeeaaaaat idea, sis." Kokoa scoffed, "Now we are no longer siting ducks near an exit, now we're sitting ducks open to attack from both sides! We have no cover on our asses, you might as well as just have us surrender!" the trio continued to hide in cover until they realized that they couldn't hear the gun fire from the security anymore. "Wait...did they give up?" Kokoa looked up from cover to see a massive explosion and the security that was firing at them went flying in all directions. "Wooooaaaaah!" Kokoa smiled, "Why didn't you guys tell me you had explosives?"

Ruby gulped, "That...that wasn't us." the trio got up from cover to see a figure emerge from the dust. Ruby noticed that it was definitely female. As she emerged from the dust more Ruby was able to make out her features more clearly. She was of moderate height and wore white heels, and cross earrings, she had coffee colored skin and blond hair, her eyes were blood red and her dress long, beautiful and white and had long elbow length white gloves to match. The woman radiated beauty. Ruby then looked at Kokoa and Moka and noticed the absolute horror on their faces.

"No..." Kokoa muttered, "Why are you here...Kahlua nee-san?"

Ruby's eyes lit up in realization, "Wait...big sister? So...she's a vampire?" Ruby quickly got on the communicator to warn the other group, "Guys, can you hear? It's Ruby! You have to get out quick! The enemy is much stronger than we think! We won't all be able to escape!" she warned. Ruby bit her lip while the two sisters grimaced, all they could do was stand and watch as the elder vampire walked towards them the sound of her heels clicking throughout the hall. _What's a vampire doing in Yuki-Onna village? _Ruby thought, _More importantly...why does Kokoa look so frightened by the sight of her sister?_ _Is this person...our enemy?_

Just as Ruby had thought that Kahlua had accidentally stepped on the bottom of her dress causing her to trip and fall on her face. "Oww." Kahlua whined as she got off the ground and dusted herself off, "Oh dear, I tripped over my dress!" _This is the enemy we should be scared of? _Ruby thought with a confused expression. Kahlua noticed her sisters and smiled, "Hope that didn't ruin my appearance and make me look foolish." she said with a childish expression.

"No, it look like you tripped over moss." Kokoa groaned. "And more importantly, what the hell are you doing here!?"

Kahlua smiled as she hugged her younger sister, "Long time no seeeee! This is so unexpected, Kokoa." she said while rubbing her face against Kokoa's, "Just what are you doing in a place like this?"

Kokoa growled and pushed her sister off her, "Dammit, I asked you that first!"

Moka took a few steps forward and nervously swallowed a lump in her throat, "K-Kahlua?"

Kahlua turned to Moka and squinted her eyes and analyzed the girl before she realized who it was, "MOKA!" she shouted, her face lighting up with a large smile. Kahlua quickly dashed to Moka and cupped her hands and cupped her hands, "No way! I can't believe it's you, Moka! Look at you, cute as ever I see." she looked down and saw the rosario still around Moka's neck, "Oh, still keep your powers in check I see. Good for you!" Ruby looked on in awe as she saw Kahlua pull her two sisters in for a big hug. "I'm so happy, meeting my two littles sisters on accident." Kahlua looked up and smiled at Ruby, "Oh, is this person your friend? I'm sure my little sisters are always causing trouble for you."

Kokoa blushed from embarrassment and eventually forced Kahlua off her, "Let go of me Kahlua!" she shouted. Kokoa stared at Kahlua with slitted eyes, "You still haven't answered me, Kahlua." she said sternly, "Why are you here? You don't leave home unless you're doing a job. So...who are you here to kill?" Ruby stared at Kokoa with a somewhat shocked expression, _Kill? Her? She doesn't look like she'd harm a fly._

Kahlua frowned at her littles sister's accusation, "That's so cruel of you, Kokoa." Kahlua pouted, "Let me clear up this misunderstanding, today I'm acting as the organizations 'Goodwill Ambassador'." she stated.

"Goodwill Ambassador?" Kokoa questioned with a facial expression that said she didn't believe a word she was being told.

"YEAH!" Kahlua replied excitedly, "Look, our negotiation partner has come along as well! Won't you please come in, Snow Priestess?" as Kahlua said that several men in suits brought out a woman in a wheelchair. The woman was bound to it with tape and rope. She was also placed in a straight jacket, blinded and gagged. She looked liked she was on the set of a BDSM porno. "We would really love cooperation from you guys." Kahlua smiled.

"Just...who are you?" Ruby asked.

Kahlua clasped her hands together and smiled, "I'm so glad you asked! The organization's name is Fairy Tail. I've been working with them quite a bit recently. Right now the organization and the village are forming an alliance. According to the alliance agreement 'Mizore Shirayuki shall become a hostage for the organization,' and it's already passed the schedule date." Kahlua frowned, "My situation requires me to forbid this to come to pass. Which is why I tied up the Snow Priestess. She must be shown that she cannot withdraw from the alliance!" Kahlua pressed her hand to her ear and smiled, "It seems like Mizore and her friends shall be in our custody any second." the girls gasped in surprise.

"No..." Moka whispered.

"No way." Ruby shook her head, "We were meant to be the decoys. If Tsukune and them get captured then our battle was meaningless!"

"Fufufu." Kahlua laughed, "Well then I suppose our job is done here!"

Kokoa's legs began trembling, actually they had been trembling but she just realized the reason why. _It's...I'm trembling in fear. _she thought, _Of course. Having Kahlua-nee as an enemy would be...very, very bad. Even since long ago, when we were kids...that care free smiling face it...it's always frightened me._

"We have to run." Moka whispered. Kokoa's eyes widened when her sister spoke up. "I'll be the decoy. So Ruby, get Kokoa and escape through that window." she motioned her head towards one of the many stained glass windows. Moka turned her hips and began running off from the others. _If one of us escapes. _She thought, _If one escapes we can get help and rescue the others. _

Kahlua groaned at the sight of her sister running away and in mere seconds Kahlua had gotten in front of Moka and cut her off. "Did you think that if you get more friends you could rescue Mizore?" she asked with a frown, "Please, just...don't resist, I hate that more than anything. I don't want to have to hurt you too, Moka."

Moka's face scrunched up in anger, "Stand aside, Kahlua." she commanded

Kahlua scrunched her face as her sister dashed forward, "Stop being obstinate!" before she could do anything she got a call on her radio again, "What is it?" Moka stopped for one reason or another. _Kahlua sounded upset perhaps the others are alright._ "What do you mean 'just one?'" Kahlua's eyes widened slightly, "What did you say? Bug? What do you mean by bug!?" Kahlua looked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing, as if someone she knew other than her sisters were here and against her, "NO! Don't engage, that man is dangerous!" Just as Kahlua said that one of the windows shattered open with Kurumu, Mizore, Yukari and Tsukune.

"We've found Moka and the others." Kurumu said on the communicator, "They're safe for now but...just hurry." The men in black that brought the Snow Priestess out had gotten out there guns and ready to fire, but Kurumu and Mizore were quick to take care of them on their own.

Moka smiled when she saw the group was safe, "Mizore, Kurumu. And Tsukune and Yukari too!" she cheered, "W-Where's Ben?"

"Don't worry," Mizore assured, "He's fine."

"Are you sure?" Moka asked.

* * *

Spider-Man stood in front of the group of men who all had there guns out and laughed, "Oh man, what bad luck." he said before squinting his lenses, "Seriously, what are the odds of having and Eight v. One fight and every single one of you drawing the shit end of the stick."

**Music Queue: Keanu Reeves--Logic**

Spider-Man took a deep breath. Time seemed to slow as he squatted low and crossed his arms shooting weblines at the shotgun holders. He ripped their weapons out with a solid yank and then webbed them to the walls. "There, now it's a fair fight." Spider-Man zipped over to the first man he disarmed and sent a massive punch across his jaw followed by a kick to his chest, but instead of forcing him back Spidey used his adhesive ability to have the man stick to the sole of his foot. He then spun on one foot before jumping in the air and doing a front flip to gain momentum and fling the man across the room at one of the assault rife holders. The other assault rifle holder was almost directly below Spider-Man, "SPECIAL DELIVERY!" he shouted before using two weblines to yank himself down and slam his feet into the man's face

_SPIDER SENSE!_ A man had a pistol pointed at Spider-Man's head and was standing right behind him. Quickly reacting, Spider-Man threw his left elbow up and hit the man's hand causing him to fire at the ceiling. Spidey then shot weblines behind him and pulled himself between the man's legs to end up at his back. He then jumped on the man's back and wrapped his legs around the torso, then he leaned back and attached his hands to the floor while bringing the man with him he quickly slammed the man against the ground, head first. "If you experience a concussion you should consult your doctor and ask for work lea--AGH!" he cried out, narrowly dodging fire from the assault rifle across the room.

"You ruined my joke!" Spidey shouted, "Oh, you sonova--" he quickly zipped to the man and punched him in the face, followed by dodging a beating from the butt of the rifle by performing a back handspring and webbing the barrel causing it to jam. "Uh-oh, looks like it's clogged! Have you heard of the revolutionary new cleaning solution called KICKING YOUR ASS!" Spider-Man webbed the man closer to him before running up his torso to gain air and the webbed him again so he could spin him in the air and slam him to the ground. "See how effective it is! Guaranteed to wipe out piss stains like yourselves in seconds!"

"SHUT UP!" a man shouted as he threw a punch at Spider-Man, which was easily caught by the vigilante who broke the man's wrist and punched him in the face to knock him out.

"Ooooh, snap, crackle, POP! you in the mouth!" Spidey stood up and looked at the last three men who all had their pistols out. "C'mon, I know I'm beautiful, but that's no reason for all you boys to whip 'em out at once. The men in black looked at each other for a bit before they all began firing at once. Spider-Man, of course, dodged the bullets easily.

"What the hell is this guy? Some sort of monster?" one of the men asked.

"Cool guns, let me show you mine." Spider-Man made his hand into a finger gun and pointed it at one of the men, "BANG!" he shouted as a ball went racing at massive speeds to the man. The ball detonated on contact and enveloped the man in webbing, the force was strong enough to send him to the wall and keep him there. Spider-Man then shot a web ball at a man's face and blinded him, "Oooh! That's called a MONEY SHOT, BABY!" Spidey shouted as he zipped across the room and one hit K.O.ed his opponent. _One left. _he thought.

The final man held up his gun and fired only for it to click empty. "Oh, shit."

Spider-Man yanked the pistol out of the man's hand with a webline and spun it around him before swinging it around back at the man with the intention being to hit him. Instead, Spidey didn't realize how long the webline was and instead had the web-weapon combo wrap around the man's neck like a grappling hook. Spidey shrugged and yanked the man forward causing him to slide on his face before flipping around and landing on his knees again. Once he was close enough Spider-Man performed a back somersault kick and knocked the man out, "FLASH KICK!" he shouted.

Spider-Man landed and took a look around the room and laughed, "Man, you guys are looking like one of my commissions...a white, sticky mess. HA! Get it 'cause you guys..." he waved his hand, "You're all unconscious you won't hear me."

* * *

**Back with the others...**

"Pretty sure." Mizore said, nodding to Moka. Mizore looked behind her to see the woman who had captured her bound and gagged, "Snow Priestess?" she asked. She walked up to the woman and shook her head, "This is terrible, even though you were forming an alliance they did this to you." Mizore sighed and began undoing the restraints on the woman, "Even so, you did say it was for 'the sake of the village' didn't you?" Mizore removed the restraints and looked the Snow Priestess in her eyes, "I don't bear any grudges against you. I also like the village and want to do what I can to help it. But...just a bit more, please give us a bit more time." she smiled as tears formed, "For the sake of my friends who came to save me just a bit more will be fine so that we can become closer together."

"Mizore..." Kurumu smiled before she Yukari and Moka gave Mizore a hug, "so you'll definitely be coming back to the academy with us?"

"Then you must run." the priestess muttered causing the cheering to stop, "Run away and take the villagers." The priestess began to groan and her eyes shone a bright light before she opened her mouth and a ghost like creature began spewing out from her body. It shone a fiery blue and had what looked to be antennae coming from it's head as well as a face that looked like a jack o' lantern.

"**Too bad...it's too bad.**" it spoke with a more high pitched voice. The sight itself caused Yukari to nearly jump out of her skin in fear. "**Everything you have done up till now is worthless****. The organization will invade the village. The alliance us the only way** **to stop blood from flowing.**" it warned. "**I am the great Jack Frost, this ectoplasm is the embodiment of the Priestess' 'Prophecy Ability'. In other words, I am the one who is always telling the Priestess what the future holds.**"

"What do you mean, 'the alliance is the only way to stop blood from flowing'?" Mizore asked.

"**That is my prophecy.**" the spirit replied. "**If they go back on their deal with Fairy Tail then a rain of blood will befall the village. Look, misfortune is about to fall upon you right mow.**" the spirit warned Mizore's eyes widened as she felt something stick into her lower back.

Looking back Mizore could see Kahlua sticking her hand through her body and shoving it in further. "MIZORE!" Kurumu called out as she tried to pull Kahlua's hand out of Mizore. "What the hell are you--" in an instant Kahlua smacked Kurumu down with a single punch, leaving both the teens to lie in a puddle of their own blood.

"T-That's why I said it..." Kahlua said, her lips trembling slightly, "From the bottom of my heart I said to form an alliance." Kahlua looked up to the other teens with tears flowing down her face and her sobbing, "I HATE YOU ALL!" she cried.

Ruby cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "Why is she crying?"

Kokoa gulped, "Run away. Run away now!" she commanded, "She's throwing a tantrum, she only does this when she's working!"

"Working?" Ruby asked.

"What is this, Twenty Questions!?" Kokoa complained, "Kahlua is the top assassin of the Shuzin family!"

"Wait, what?" Tsukune asked, he didn't even have time to process what was going on before Kahlua shoved her hand though his gut.

"TSUKUNE!" Moka shouted, "Kahlua, stop this!" Both Moka and Ruby tried to stop Kahlua's rampage, with Moka holding her arm and Ruby putting her in a headlock, but Kahlua just elbowed Ruby before kicking her off and threw Moka to the ground.

"Idiots! I said, RUN!" Kokoa cried out as she herself was stuck in place from the fear of her sister.

Moka looked up at Kahlua and processed what was going on, "So to avoid this, the Snow Priestess made an alliance with the organization--" Before Moka could even finish speaking Kahlua's fist came ramming into her face and knocking her backwards.

Meanwhile, all Kokoa could do was sit still, struck by fear. _Kahlua doesn't hesitate when killing. That's just how she was taught. Instead she'll shed tears, until he purpose has been completed and until she loses all other thoughts of consciousness. She loves us, her sisters that much I know. That's why she hates fighting. And that's also why...she cries while she fights._ With everyone knocked down and bleeding Kahlua just stood in the middle and bawled her eyes out.

"Kahlua, please...stop." Moka begged as she grabbed her older sister's ankle. Kahlua cocked back her hand to strike her sister down, but before she could do anything she felt two feet plant against her face and send her flying across the room.

"Sorry I'm late for the party. But I had to deal with a few bad eggs who wanted to crash it." Spider-Man stood tall as Kahlua slowly got to her feet with tears still running down her face.

"You aren't..." she mumbled.

"I'm sorry, WHAT!?" Spider-Man yelled out holding a hand against his ear, "Speak up you're mumbling!"

"You aren't who I thought you were." Kahlua said as she continuously looked Spider-Man up and down, "Tell me...do you know a Meta by the name of 'Kaine Parker.'"

Spidey felt a chill go down his spine, "Yeah...that's my brother. Whhhhhhyyyy?" he asked.

Again, Kahlua began to sob furiously, "That makes this EVEN WORSE! NOW HE'LL HATE ME FOR SURE!!" Kahlua cocked her hand back and in an instant was in front of Spider-Man, but to her own surprise she didn't strike him. No, he had avoided her attack.

**Music Queue: Ignite--Jeff Williams **

"Yo, Waterworks, you need to calm down. A good way to do that is by taking a NAP!" Spidey zipped from nowhere and slammed his fist against Kahlua, tears and blood flying off her face due to the impact. "Oh...you are still up. Greeeeeaaaaaat." he groaned. _SPIDER SENSE!_ This time Spider-Man was not fast enough to react as he felt her hand jab into his side and pierce skin, "OW, YOU BITCH!" Spidey headbutted his opponent before connecting his hand to the center of her chest and using his adhesive ability to hold her, "UP AND OVER!" he shouted as he jumped and slammed the vampire into the ground, causing a crater. Kahlua merely got up as if nothing had happened, "What kinda T-850 bullshit is this!?"

Spider-Man jumped into the air and began swinging around massive columns, as he predicted, Kahlua chased after him, "You really want to kill me that badly?" he then stuck to the side of one column and waited, "Fine, you can have me!" just as Kahlua was about to make contact she felt nothing but concrete as Spider-Man had avoided her attack again, "HA, PSYCH!" he then jumped back to the ground and waited for Kahlua. Finally she had jumped back down and faced the Meta, "So.. you're a vampire right? Like, that's the only thing that makes sense." Again, Kahlua attacked Spidey, however he didn't get away this time as she anticipated him to dodge her attack. This time she grabbed him by the leg and slammed him into the ground. From there she began punching him repeatedly in the chest while she cried.

Spider-Man shot two weblines behind Kahlua to the column she punched earlier. On that column was a clear crack of where it would break off at had it been damaged anymore. Spider-Man, using all his strength, pulled the massive column and rolled away from where it would be landing. The massive cylindrical stone landed on top of Kahlua. "YEAH! WOOO!" Spidey cheered. Just as he did so, Kahlua stood up with the pillar in hand, practically unharmed aside from a few scrapes and bruises, "NO! BOOO!" Kahlua chucked the giant pillar at Spider-Man and he avoided it by jumping on top of it and running along the side before zipping over to Kahlua.

Kahlua saw her enemy coming towards her, she cocked her hand back and just when she thinks she's going to hit him, he retreats early. "Huh?" She asked before being kicked in the face by a very pissed off Inner Moka.

"Long time no see, sis." Moka smirked.

Spider-Man landed and held his side, air barely coming in and out of his body, "Who the hell is this bitch?" he asked.

"That's my older sister." Moka stated, causing Spider-Man to stand straight up and fumble over his words.

"Did I say 'bitch' I-I-I meant, GORGEOUS woman. I mean, who doesn't love a dark skinned Onee-san." Spidey said with a nervous laugh.

"No, you were right the first time. She is definitely acting like a massive bitch right now." Moka smirked.

"M-Moka, Ben." The two stopped and turned around to see Tsukune and the others. Tsukune held onto the rosario for dear life as the others slowly tried to help each other. Moka rushed to Tsukune's side while Ben helped Kokoa to her feet while Yukari got Ruby and Kurumu helped Mizore.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kokoa asked Ben, "Do you know how easily Kahlua could have killed you."

"I must not be that easy to kill of I'm still up and moving though, huh?" Ben chuckled causing Kokoa to blush slightly.

"Yeah well...my point still stands!"

"At any rate," Moka started while taking a deep breath, "We should get out of here. If Kahlua were to get up again..."

"I don't mean to ruin your speech, but 'If' has become 'When' and 'When' is 'Right now'." Ben interrupted as he pointed to Kahlua standing on her own feet.

"So strong," Kahlua stated with a smile, "So much so that nobody has died. So I too shall release my bonds and show my true power."

Ben blinked a few times in astonishment, "I'm sorry, what?"

Kahlua then took a bow to Moka, "But first, I must commend you. Releasing that seal is no simple task. And if you are able to do it, you must be truly exceptional." Kahlua sighed, "What to do...do I finish the battle now and let the sisters I love do much run away." Kahlua asked herself before tears began to flow again, "No...I must kill you all, Kokoa, Moka, all I love. Because that is my task."

Ben let out a long sigh, "Anybody got a lighter?"

"What, why?" Kokoa asked.

"Because they say having a cigarette is nice after getting fucked." Ben chuckled.

"Oh..."

"What? Nothing?"

"No, that was good. Good job." Kokoa complimented, "Just don't get used to it."

Kahlua then removed the cross earrings, her 'limiters' as she called them, and the entire group could feel a massive spike in energy, so much so that it was palpable. Suddenly, blood began to gush out of Kahlua's right arm as it practically exploded, tendrils soon took its place as well as when looked to be razor sharp bat wings, at least five or six of them. "What the hell is that!?" Ben yelled out.

Moka grimaced, "Guys...get back. WAY back." Kahlua was even faster now as the swipe of her bat wing blade arm reached Moka in milliseconds. The others gasped as they thought they had just watched Moka get cut to ribbons, but was smart enough to believe otherwise. "I see..." Moka said as her after image disappeared, "that's how you attack with your arm." when the after image faded, Kahlua looked down in surprise to see Moka striking her foot upwards. Kahlua had her head knocked backwards causing her to take a step back, but she recovered quickly and tried to hit Moka with a headbutt, only to find her head being pulled in the opposite direction.

"Mind if I join in?" Spider-Man, "I mean, she was my opponent first so it's only fair!" Spidey pulled Kahlua enough so that he could get a few punches in, but immediately he had to back off or suffer being cut to ribbons.

"YOU IDIOT!" Moka shouted, "I told you to get back!"

"Now Moka--WOAH!" Spidey grunted just as he dodged a swipe from Kahlua, getting only a few cuts in him, "OW! Anyways, sharing is caring, Moka!" Spidey shouted as he avoided getting cut again.

"What the hell is with that arm?" Kurumu asked as the others watched the battle in horror.

"It's a vampire's transformation ability." Yukari explained, "Vampires have what's called 'a wealth of power' shaping their bodies into the form of rats, bats or wolves are some of the abilities they are famous for. However, due to their pride and sense of beauty, transformation is seen as shameful and in recent years has become a more forgotten ability."

Moka got knocked back but was placed back on her feet thanks to Ben lifting her up with a webline. Mizore watched on as Ben painfully tried to fight Kahlua, but it was as if his punches were hitting steel. "Stop..." Mizore cried, "Moka, Ben, you have to stop! This whole thing is because of me. If you lose, then we all die! I can't let that happen--MMPH." she was silenced by Ben webbing her mouth causing Moka to smirk.

"Do you know who you are talking to?" Moka boasted, "Just watch."

Ben finally landed back near Moka and was nearly out of breath, "I have a plan."

"What a coincidence, so do I." Moka replied, "I/You need to kick her." they said in unison.

"Okay, I see, but does your plan involve a distraction?" Ben asked, gaining a cocked eyebrow as a response. Ben removed his mask to see a battered up face, "Just watch. Ben then stuck his finger into his cuts to cover it in his blood before sucking the blood off his finger and mixing it with his spit. Once Kahlua got close Ben hocked his bloodied saliva onto her face and into her mouth. The smell, and taste of tainted blood was enough to force the vampire to recoil in disgust. Moka could only look on astonished that Ben's idea actually worked. "Uh...Moka, you wanna, like do the thing? NOW!?"

With that Moka cocked her leg back and sent a perfect blow to Kahlua's gut. The sounds of popping was heard, but not of bone, no, it was the sound of internal organs being destroyed. "SHE DID IT!" Kurumu cheered.

_SPIDER SENSE!_ Ben quickly formed a thick web shield and blocked Moka the best he could, however, Kahlua's wing blades were still able to pierce the shield and stab into Ben. "Fucking kidding me?" he grunted, "Every time, huh?"

"Impossible!" Moka yelled out, "I destroyed her organs, how can she move? Is she charmed?" Moka gasped as another blade came up and was about to slash the two apart.

"If we die I want you to know..." Ben coughed out, "That you're pressing your boobs against my back, and they are awesome."

Just as the blade came down it was stopped before it hit the teens. The person who stopped it, surprisingly, was Miyabi Fujisaki the man Ben and Tsukune knocked out earlier. "That's enough Kahlua, you can stop here." he commanded.

Kahlua seemed to snap out of her stupor, "Miyabi?" she asked.

Miyabi smiled lightly as he disconnected his arm from Kahlua's blade, "Thanks to you our purpose here has been met. But...I don't remember asking you to act as an assassin. 'Boss' Orders?' 'Kill everyone in the village?'" he scoffed, "Make no mistake Kahlua, no matter what the boss may have said, I am the one who hired you. So you listen to me and me alone. So since I'm the one who did so I'm counting on you. You don't need to kill anyone anymore. Let's go, Kahlua."

Kahlua smiled, "Really! I don't have to kill? The order has been cancelled?"

"Yeah," Miyabi replied, "I just gone done talking to the boss a little bit ago."

"Then...my sisters, the villagers?"

"Yeah...you don't have to kill anyone."

Kahlua's eyes returned to normal as she began to wobble back and forth, "Thank goodness! Thank goodness, thank goodness, THANK GOODNESS!" and with that Kahlua collapsed into Miyabi's arms.

Moka grimaced, "What are you planning? Why did you save us?" Moka asked.

"He didn't." Ben groaned, "I know a sincere save versus a 'save my own skin' save any day."

Miyabi chuckled, "Yes, the human is right. Kahlua, while in battle, has the innate ability to paralyze her sense of pain. Combine that with a vampire's strength and healing ability It means that for a short amount of time she can become 'charmed.'" Miyabi took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off Kahlua's face, "However, when she goes back to normal the catastrophic injuries catch up to her. If she does not notice them...she'll die. If the battle had continued then it only would lead to death for Kahlua. It's your victory this time, in order to heal our injuries we'll be leaving this village alone." _Victory. _Ben thought, _That's such crap. We lost and you know it. You could have stepped in at any time. _Miyabi bridal carried the critical Kahlua to a door where a helicopter appeared by the balcony, ready to pick up its ally.

Tsukune got up slowly, his teeth clenched, "What is your purpose!?" he asked, "Why were you so aggressive towards the village? Why did you hurt Mizore!?"

Miyabi looked back and smirked, "The day when you'll understand is coming. When that day comes, we'll meet again. See ya' later, kid." and with that Miyabi hopped on the helicopter.

Ben's temper rose. They had lost, there was no way around it. They only won in terms of semantics. Ben watched as the helicopter raised itself higher and he aimed his hands at the propellers. When he squeezed his palm...nothing came out, just the sound of air. Empty shooters. "Hmhmhm." he chuckled. His chuckling turned to laughter, his laughter soon turned to hysterics. All the teens stared at Ben as he laughed his ass off before immediately flipping a 180 and slamming his hands against the ground, "_FUUUUCK_!!!" he shouted as he punched the ground repetedly cracking it with every hit. "They were right there! We HAD THEM!"

"Ben, relax," Moka said calmly, "we won."

Ben stood up immediately, "Are you delusional!? We didn't win shit! THEY got away, we are left half-dead. We only won by semantics!"

"The village is safe." Moka argued.

"But for how long? Who's to say they won't be back within a few days? I HAD THEM! Right there, if I still had web fluid I could've stopped their helicopter."

"Oh? And then what, genius? You'd get killed if you fought them."

"At least I'd die trying! At least I could say I gave it my all. What? You'd run away? You wouldn't try?"

"No!" Moka shouted, "It'd be suicide! If you had stopped them do you really think you could have beaten him? You couldn't even stop Kahlua!"

"I KNOW!!" Ben shouted, "I...I know." he repeated quietly. "It's because I based all my power scaling off you! I didn't think there was someone stronger."

"There's always someone stronger." Moka replied.

"Yeah, but they are usually a couple years down the line not in the same family like.. as your sibling." Ben held his side, the pain finally getting to him. He punched a column in frustration, "Next time...I'll be prepared. Next time they won't beat us." he breathed heavily as he walked past his friends some of them looking terrified at his uncharacteristic anger. "Mizore..." Ben called out, "Are you okay?"

Mizore nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." she smiled.

"Good." Ben nodded slowly as he limped out of the shrine, "I'm going home. I'm fucking tired of this place."

* * *

Later the group packed by the bus as it was near the flowers. Ben was out of his suit and instead was shirtless and covered in bandages to stop the bleeding. While the others were by the bus discussing amongst themselves, Ben was by the flowers getting lost in his thoughts. "I can't believe all this happened because it revolved around a stupid flower ceremony." he sighed. He picked up one of the snow whites and sniffed it, "Actually...they smell nice, honestly they aren't that bad looking either." Ben looked at the flowers a little bit before picking a bunch out of the ground.

"What's Ben doing?" Kurumu asked.

Yukari squinted her eyes, "I think he's picking flowers." the teens' eyes all widened, "Wait...did Ben ever actually hear that these flowers are basically just an aphrodisiac?"

Moka, still in her Inner form, walked over to Ben as he picked flowers, "What are you doing?" she asked

"Picking flowers." Ben replied in a somewhat irritated voice.

"Okay...but why?"

"Because it's relaxing."

"This relaxes you?" Moka asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I mean, yeah...it does. You want one?" Ben held the flower to Moka's face and she quickly batted it away, "That was rude."

Moka snickered, "They're aphrodisiacs, dumbass."

Ben blinked a few times trying to comprehend what he was told, "They're WHAT!?"

* * *

The Snow Priestess and Tsurara stood next to each other to say their goodbyes to the teens. "I am deeply grateful." the Snow Priestess said with a bow, "I still do not know whether or not our fight with Fairy Tail is over. But even so, today in the village nobody is worrying. It is a different peace compared to yesterday." The teens smiled and looked at the village, "This," the Priestess continued, "This is the view of what you have protected. Today you are the village's saviors."

"Everyone!" Ruby called out, "It's time for us to go!"

The teens turned around and began getting on the bus, Ben meanwhile had stopped the bus driver to ask him something. "Mizore Shirayuki." the Priestess called out to her again, "I harmed you for the sake of the village and for that...I'm sorry. There is still one more thing that must be said." the Snow Priestess held up her hand to show a miniature glyph on the backside of her palm. From that glyph popped out a mini version of the Jack Frost.

"**Be careful...they are dangerous.**" he warned, "**I feel they have a special destiny. Yes...I sense a destiny that shall move the whole world. All three of them!**"

"Three?" Mizore asked. She turned around to see Ben with Tsukune and Moka. He was rubbing Tsukune's shoulders with a goofy smile.

"**I won't say that bad things won't happen if you are with them.**"

"That's fine." Mizore smiled as she pulled out a new lolipop, "This whole ordeal has taught me an important lesson. Precious things, being firm about yourself. That's all I care about. Ben's right, destiny is bullshit." she smiled.

* * *

**After the arc...**

The teens piled onto the bus and began heading home. Ben looked at Moka who was still in her Inner form. "So...any reason you didn't change?" he asked. Moka only replied with a shrug. "Good talk." the bus entered the tunnel. A light could be seen at the end and the next thing they knew the students were out...but not back at the school like they expected.

"Um..." Ruby started, "Excuse me, where are we?"

Ben laughed, "Welcome to Jersey. The shithole of the east coast."

Moka's eyes widened in surprise, "Wait, why are we in the States? HOW are we in the States?"

Ben grabbed his phone out of his pocket and began dialing, "Take a left up here." he told the driver. "_Hey_," Ben started when her got on his call, "_Look, I'm gonna be honest, I'm in a bit of a bind. I...I need your help_." Moka eaves dropped the best she could but couldn't really hear what the other person was saying. "_Yeah. No, I know. I...I made some really bad enemies today. I need to be prepared for the next time we meet._" again silence. waiting for the person to respond, "_Do you still have the Mk. II?_" Ben asked.

_Mark II? _Moka thought

"_No, I'll finish myself, that's fine. I just need the blueprints._" Ben frowned slightly, "_Look man, I don't ask for much and you were making it for him anyways. You may as well let me use it, instead of having it rot in a storage closet._" Ben smiled and pumped his fist, "_Thank you, Tony._" Ben hung up and coughed into his hand. He grimaced as he saw blood in his cough so he quickly wiped it on his pants.

"_What was that?_" Moka asked.

"_Jedi business._" Ben replied with a smirk, "_Top secret._" Moka's response was a disappointed frown.

* * *

After about forty-five minutes of driving the group finally made it inside a small suburban area and piled off. "Make yourself scarce," Ben told the driver, "People will question why a Japanese bus is in Queens. The group walked up to a home that had a brown van parked on the side. Once at the door Ben rang the doorbell. The again. And then he began button mashing the doorbell.

"Oh..." Mizore said with a frown, "You're one of THOSE people.

Finally the door opened with a very angry looking teen with a slight stubble, bandaged ice pack on his side and holding an ice pack on his head, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WAA--" the man stopped and looked who it was. "Oh..." the man's tone changed when he saw Ben. "It's just you."

"Hey Kaine." Ben said with a slight wave, "What uh...What the hell happened to you?"

Kaine looked Ben up and down and chuckled, "I should be asking you the same thing. You look like Venom chewed you up and spit you out." Kaine turned around and waved his hand, "Come on then." Kaine had the teens sit around on the couch and love seat, "Make yourselves comfortable, except for the vampire, I don't care if you're uncomfortable."

"Why are we here?" Tsukune asked.

"I need to get some stuff and it was easier bringing you here than it was you know...sneaking out." Ben stood up to go look for the things he needed, "Entertain them. I have to go to Manhattan."

Kaine looked at the monsters and sighed, "So...has he told you he draws porn yet?"

"Oh, yeah." the students laughed in unison.

"So what happened to you?" Kurumu asked.

"Uh...Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, sent an assassin after me and...she's a lot tougher than she looks." silence once again filled the room and Kaine rubbed his head at the awkwardness, "Sooo...what happened to you guys?"

"Kaine," Moka started, "Real quick, how do you know my sister, Kahlua Shuzin." Kaine bit his lip. "Are you sleeping with her?"

"Oh god no!" Kaine defended, "She's a vampire." Kaine shook his head, "No, I know her because she and I worked together on a mission with Blade...you know...Killing vampires." again silence took over. Kaine continously cracked his knuckles. _Please let this end._ he thought, _I would literally rather die than talk to these people right now._ After what felt like hours of silence Ben finally returned with a large case, "Thank you God!"

"Kaine!" Ben yelled out, "Where's the Spider Armor?"

Kaine shrugged, "Uhh...Celler?"

After a couple hours of gathering supplies Ben finally gathered everything into boxes. "What the hell is all this?" Moka asked.

Ben turned to his friends with a large grin, "Preparations." he began to point at the boxes one by one, "Spider Armor, Mk. 1 and 2. Old Web Shooters. Chemistry set. Spider Tracers. Spider Light. Holy Water. Annnnd...top secret."

"You're serious about this aren't you." Moka mentioned with a smirk.

* * *

Now with everything set the teens finally set out to go back to the academy. "Good luck with...whatever." Kaine smirked.

"Kaine." Ben stopped and looked at his brother with a serious expression, "These guys...you know about Fairy Tale, don't you." Kaine nodded, "What are our odds?"

Kaine sighed as he hung off the door frame, "Not good. You may not make it back."

"You know what this means, right?"

"I'm not taking Spider-Man."

"No, I mean...you know that this is probably the last time we'll see each other if that's the case, right?" Kaine nodded. "Kaine...I know that you and I haven't always got along. But you have always tried to make me a better person, even if it was inadvertently. You're my brother through and through." Ben opened his arms out and, surprisingly, Kaine returned the gesture and the two went in for a hug. But just a quick hug, like three seconds. Ben began walking to the bus and turned around one more time, "I love you, man."

"Gay." Kaine replied as he flipped Ben off. Ben couldn't help but laugh. Kaine waved the teens off and closed the door. Once out of sight Kaine swallowed a lump he had in his throat. He leaned against the door and slid down letting out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Last time, huh?" Kaine sighed, "Dammit Ben, just don't make May cry, okay?"

**To be continued...**

**A/N: Here's the new chapter! I was very excited to do the action scenes as well as set up later events with that little epilogue. Not really much to say, so I can't wait to see you guys next chapter.**

**Follow, Favorite, Review**


	14. A Paradise?

**A Paradise?**

* * *

It had been several days since returning from Yuki-Onna the team was both mentally and physically exhausted. However, despite that, there were still few who strove to be stronger. Or, in the case of Ben, strove to be better prepared. Ben had skipped classes the last few days and even club, opting instead to work on his secret project. Ben's dorm was cluttered, most of his belongings were piled off in a corner so that he may have as much room as possible to work. Large wires and coils connected to the large box he was working on and went out his window where they connected to a large electrical box that helped power the school. "Oooooh...I hope they don't mind me siphoning power for the project." Ben groaned as he wiped sweat from his brow.

_What's gotten into you?_ Dreamqueen asked appearing suddenly in physical form. The sudden materializing of the succubus nearly made Ben fall back. _You haven't slept in days and you're working on...what? A stupid suit? What about my needs?_

Ben rubbed his eyes, "It's not some stupid suit, it's a last resort." Ben coughed into his hand and had to wipe the blood off.

_SEE! Look, this lack of sleep is affecting your health!_ Dreamqueen wrapped her arms around Ben and tried to put a charm on him to get him to sleep, but he shook her off.

"STOP! I have work to do." Ben shook his head as he went back to setting up the machine. "Once I get this done...then I can relax for a couple of days while it cultivates." Ben clicked at a pad for a couple of minutes before pressing a button. When he did so the lights in the dorms flickered a bit and, unbeknownst to him, power went off in some classrooms in the school. "There!" he laughed, "Finally I'm that much closer. If I can't get stronger than my opponents...then I'll just have to try and even the playing field." Ben looked over in the corner of his room at the other supplies he had brought with him, "That means I'll have to be doubly prepared, a backup FOR the backup." Ben lifted up an arm piece from the first Spider Armor, "And I think I know how I'll do it." he smirked. "But first, I should head out because this will take time and my room will get really, really hot."

Before Dreamqueen knew it Ben had taken a shower and left. _Dummy. Does he not realize that exhaustion is what made him a target for people like my father._ she groaned. Dreamqueen looked over to the large box that Ben was working on, _Iron Spider Mk. II, huh?_ Inside the box seemed to be particles rotating around each other like a tornado or a dust devil.

* * *

Tsukune woke up in a place that seemed completely foreign to him. The water was a luscious green and the forest around him seemed like a jungle. More so there seemed to be what looked like a moon with rings around it like Saturn. Tsukune stood up and noticed the tall grassy area he was in. _How the hell did I get here?_ Tsukune held his head in pain as he tried to think of what happened, _Okay Tsukune...trace your steps. First I was walking to class this morning. I got really tired then...I woke up here._ Tsukune sighed before nearly tearing his hair out in frustration, "THAT DOESN'T TELL ME ANYTHING! There is a planet...or moon, I'm not sure! There's giant bugs! And there's even..." Tsukune looked up at the sky and his shoulders dropped, "a GIANT FLYING WHALE!? Did I get stuck in a Hideo Kojima game!?" Tsukune rubbed his head. "Heeeeello!" he shouted, "Anybody there?"

Tsukune tried to move but found his right side to be heavier than usual. Looking down at his hand he saw a handcuff placed just above his locket. _What the hell? _he thought. Tsukune tried yanking his arm and heard a loud yelp behind him. "Please, don't pull so strongly!" Tsukune turned to the voice to see Ruby sitting in the grass with a chain wrapped all over her body and connected to Tsukune's handcuffs. "The chain..." she moaned, "This chain is...linked to my body!" she said with a smile.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?" Tsukune asked, "AND WHY ARE YOU WRAPPED LIKE THAT?!?"

Ruby blushed and smiled, "I'm so sorry, you just weren't waking up. So I decided to pass the time." Ruby seemed a little too happy to have a chain tightly coiled around her body.

"That makes no sense." Tsukune said, shaking his head trying not to get any weird ideas from the sight before his eyes.

"But it does!" Ruby interjected, "It's no different than twisting a phone coil around your finger!"

"PHONES DON'T HAVE COILS ANYMORE!" Tsukune argued, "Even modern home phones are wireless." Tsukune shook his head, "So...the others aren't here?" he asked, trying to change the subject, "Just what are you and me doing in a place like this?" Tsukune looked at Ruby and blushed at the sight of her, "Hold on, I can't take you seriously with that on, let me remove the chain quickly."

"NO, YOU CAN'T!" Ruby shouted, "This chain is very important, it links you and I together. Removal of said chain is absolutely forbidden, because from here on out I will be your 'lifeline'." she explained. Ruby adjusted her clothes as Tsukune rubbed the back of his head with a questioning expression.

"Ummm...'lifeline'?" he asked.

Ruby sighed then smirked, "I'll explain, but I need you to hold this in your left hand please." Ruby handed Tsukune a whip that had thorns all over it. Tsukune examined the weapon, it FELT like it had been through some shit. _The type of battles this has experienced. _Tsukune thought, _I can practically sense it._ "That whip," Ruby explained, "was used once by a great Vampire Slayer. The Headmaster calls it...The Belmont."

Tsukune snorted at the name, "'Blemont' that's hilarious."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow, "I don't understand why it's funny. It's just a name." Ruby shook her head, "Anyways, it is a special weapon that acts as a 'Magic Canceller'." Ruby looked as if she'd explain more but she shrugged instead, "I suppose the fastest way to explain is to have you test it. Go on, give it a good crack." Tsukune gave the whip a slight crack and he felt a large surge of energy leave his body. The energy then made it's way through the handcuff attached to Tsukune and through the chain connected to Ruby. The jolt in energy resulted in Ruby getting electrocuted. "KYAAAAH!" Ruby shouted.

"RUBY!" Tsukune shouted as he rushed to his friend who had collapsed to the ground.

Ruby grunted as she struggled to sit upright, "Do you understand now? You can feel yokai power in your body can't you?" Tsukune looked at his arm and saw the lock glowing from his power, "Even though you're human, because of Moka injecting her blood in you, your body now has vampiric blood in it." Tsukune reached for his neck and touched where Moka usually drinks from. "However, as I'm sure you know, the power from that blood is sealed because of the Holy Lock. But, since that whip is a magic canceller, it acts as a sort of key to remove the seal that you have.

Tsukune gulped, "So, in other words, as long as I have this whip I can make use of my vampire powers?"

Ruby smirked, "That is the simplest way of putting it, yes. However, if you receive too much of the vampiric energy at once, you'll become a ghoul. Last time that happened, Ben had to stop you from harming your friends as well as protect you from Moka. Because we don't want that to happen, any extra energy will course through the chain acting like a release valve." Ruby explained, "Right now I'm taking the excess energy instead of the Holy Lock."

Tsukune cocked his brow in confusion, "Wait, so you mean when I expel a lot of yokai power you get shocked like just now?"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Ruby said, a little to enthusiastically.

"Wait...so what's the reason you're doing this for?"

"Is it not obvious?" Ruby scoffed before gaining a serious expression, "This is training for you to remember how to use your yokai power." Tsukune gulped, mostly due to the fact that he didn't really have a good grasp on his powers the year before. "It's important that you gain control over your power so that you can draw upon it in one intensive burst. If you aren't able to control it then I'll end up getting shocked. Easy to understand, right?" Ruby smirked, "By the way, to answer your previous question, this place is a spatial dimension created by the headmaster. However violent we are in here won't be a problem. It's the perfect place for training."

"So...you mean the reason you and I are here is to train?" Tsukune asked.

Ruby nodded, "I'm glad you understand. Now, better start working hard. You and I will be living here for a while."

* * *

Back at the school, Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore met back in the courtyard after searching for Tsukune for hours on end. "Moka, did you find him?" Kurumu asked.

"It's no good." Moka replied, "What about you guys?"

Before the others could respond they were surprised to see a very sleep deprived Ben approaching. "Yo, what is up, fellow yokai?" Ben asked as he stumbled over to the teens.

"What?" Mizore asked.

Ben let out a slight chuckle, the bags under his eyes becoming more apparent as he leaned onto Mizore's shoulder, "I'm VERY tired right now. Mentally, I'm drained. I've been doing calculations for the last 48 hours." Ben wrapped his arm around Mizore and shivered a little, "Oh, cold. Soooo...What're you guys doing? Scavenger hunt?"

"TSUKUNE'S MISSING!" all the girls shouted at once.

Ben blinked a few times, "Oh shit..." he groaned, "It's a...good thing I'm always prepared I guess?" Ben began taking off his clothes causing the girls to cover their eyes thinking he was stripping, "What? I'm just changing into my costume." the girls breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Ben had his costume underneath his clothing.

"You aren't doing any training?" The group of teens looked up into a tree to see a very smug Kokoa looking down on them, "You must be tired of being strong...or perhaps you're all hung up on Tsukune? Geez, since you lost to Kahlua shouldn't you all be a bit ashamed?" Kokoa frowned, "I mean, I'm ashamed...I'm pissed!" she said as she jumped down from the tree. Kokoa then folded her arms and blushed, "So...I want to be stronger too. And you guys want to be stronger together right? So I was thinking we could...train together."

The girls blinked a few times before turning back to each other, "I wonder what other places Tsukune could've gone to?" Kurumu asked, completely ignoring Kokoa.

"HEY, WHAT THE HELL!?" Kokoa shouted out.

Ben walked up to Kokoa and patted her shoulder, "Don't worry Coco Puffs, I'll train with you. You haven't beaten me yet after all." Ben said smugly, causing Kokoa to tense up, "But, one thing at a time. Tsukune first, me kicking your ass 'till dawn later."

"God, not you too!" Kokoa complained as she stomped her feet in frustration, "I can expect those plebs to thirst over that loser, but not you too!"

"What's this?" a mysterious voice called out from behind the group, "Are you all searching for Tsukune?" the students turned around and to their surprise found the Headmaster approaching them. "Do not worry, Tsukune is safe." he assured, "He is under my care. Starting from today he has been allowed to train in a special place."

Kurumu and the others widened their eyes in surprise, "Train!? He's really training!?" Kurumu asked.

"YEAAAAH!" Ben shouted out while clapping, "Oh man, when I said we needed to be better prepared for next time, I did not think Tsukune would be the first to take it seriously. YEAH! Way to go, kick some ass!"

"Dude, are you okay?" Kurumu asked.

"Again...really tired, I'm just trying to stay awake."

"So...got in a fight with Fairy Tail, riiiight?" Ben looked at the Headmaster's shoulder and groaned in annoyance at the sight of the Sprite Lilith. If you don't recall, she was the one who carried the mirror that made monsters reveal their true forms. "I'd be careful if I were you," she warned, "Fairy Tail is a force from the human world and a powerful one at that. They are quite the dangerous organization. You could say they are the opposite of this school, in that they don't try to reach for a peaceful coexistence with the humans. That's why, if they are starting to make a move on the academy, we need to be prepared."

The Headmaster nodded in agreement, "Now in order to make preparations for the unlikely event of a battle, we want many more people capable of fighting. You are no exception." The Headmaster sighed, "Well, I'd like to say that to you too Mr. Reilly, but..."

"But what?" Ben asked in a slightly irritated tone.

"But I am afraid that there will come a time when your opponents will become too strong for you to deal with." The Headmaster glared at the human, "You cut it close last year. You struggled to even fight Moka in a weakened state, and even with the training you did you couldn't lay a scratch on Kahlua, yes?" Ben clenched his fists, "All I mean is that there may be a time where you are a liability. After all...I never anticipated you to return."

* * *

Back with Tsukune and Ruby, he was still trying to control his yokai energy by whipping fake crows that Ruby would summon. He had been at the training with what felt like hours and even still he could control how much energy released, so with each crack of the whip he would send an electric shock to Ruby. Ruby collapsed to the ground from the last attack Tsukune did and he quickly rushed to her side, "Ruby! Are you hurt? Was that too much for you?" He lifted Ruby up and cradled her head in his arm.

Ruby turned her head and gave him a goofy grin, "I'm fiiiiine." Tsukune rolled his eyes and dropped her immediately. Ruby rubbed her head and sat up, "No need to be that way, Tsukune. In order to practice your power and get strong you must crack the whip and shock me."

"It's just useless!" Tsukune yelled as he kicked some dust in the air.

"Ehh? Are you saying my training isn't good enough!?" Ruby cried.

Tsukune sighed, "No...it's just bad that I can't seem to get any better at controlling my abilities. Sorry..." Tsukune frowned, "I was in a rush...Kuyou, Hokuto, Miyabi and Kahlua. Wherever I go, and whatever I do I seem to run into powerful opponents. Their skills are far beyond mine...that's why I couldn't protect anyone I care for, not Mizore or even Moka." Tsukune looked up, his eyes now changed to their vampiric form, a long slitted pupil and red iris. "But like Ben said, we have to be prepared. So I'll do what I can to get stronger." Ruby smiled at Tsukune's determination, "That's why I was happy that Ruby let me train, but I'm also sorry at the pain it is causing you."

Ruby approached Tsukune and hugged him, "Thank you for your concern. You know...this place was made as a 'paradise' as the Headmaster saw it. When I'm here with you...I start to think the same thing." Tsukune was about to say something when he felt what seemed to be a bowl of a sticky watery substance drop on his head. When he looked up his whole face went white.

"D-D-D-DRAAAAGOOOOON!!!" Tsukune shouted as he and Ruby began running away from the creature, "WHAT THE HELL!?! WHY IS A DRAGON HERE!?"

* * *

"A 'Monster Paradise'?" Moka asked the Headmaster. He had taken the students deep into the school to a special room that had a door resting in the middle of said it. It didn't look as if it went anywhere, but when the Headmaster opened it, it seemed to lead to a completely new world.

"Yes. It's a special dimension where I place all sorts of ferocious or nearly extinct magical beasts in order to protect them." the Headmaster explained, "Since it's such a dangerous place I figured it was the perfect place for him to train. He needs to become stronger, and although the area may be dangerous, because it is a different dimension, their concept of time is different. He could be in there for months and maybe hours will pass out here."

"Wait..." Ben interrupted, "Are you telling me you sent Tsukune to this 'Monster Paradise,' which is just some hyperbolic dimension where he could spend tons of time to train?"

"That's correct." the Headmaster nodded.

"And because it isn't guaranteed how quickly he'll progress in his training he and Ruby could likely spend the most their lives in there?"

"I suppose so."

"So you're telling me that TSUKUNE COULD SPEND MOST HIS LIFE, LIVING IN A MONSTER'S PARADISE!?!" Ben snorted when he realized he couldn't keep a straight face.

"Hm. Yes." the Headmaster nodded, ignoring Ben's humor. "It'll be dangerous once you all enter...so what shall you do?"

* * *

"RUUUUN!" Tsukune shouted as he and Ruby tried to avoid the wyvern chasing after them. Tsukune had to train on the fly, so he had whip massive bug-like creatures out of the air as they moved. Each crack of the whip caused an jolt to go to Ruby, but she seemed to handle it pretty well. The two eventually ran into very large praymantis looking creatures. Tsukune cracked his whip again, but this caused a large than usual dose of energy to flow through him and shock Ruby causing her to collapse to the ground in...pleasure. "Dammit, Ruby this really isn't the time too--" Tsukune gasped as the wyvern was right next to them. He cocked his hand back ready to attack when a sudden red blur came out of nowhere and one punched the monster into unconsciousness.

"YEEEEEES!" Ben shouted out as he began performing the Crash Bandicoot victory dance, "Did you see that? Did. You. See. THAT!"

"Holy shit, Ben?" Tsukune asked.

"TSUKUNE!" Tsukune turned to see the rest of his friends running towards him.

"Guys?" he asked.

Ben continued beating his chest and stomping around the dragon in victory, "I am the Spider Knight! Hero of Camelot! Protector of the beautiful Maiden! DRAGON SLAYER!" he then took a deep breath before continuing, "VICTORY SCREEEECH!! OOO-LOO-LOO-LOO-LOO-LOO!!!"

Tsukune blinked his eyes a few times in confusion, "I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"Yeah, apparently he gets like this when he's mentally exhausted." Mizore explained. Tsukune quickly dispersed from the group to continue his training, a sign that told Ben to back off from the other creatures. Not just because Tsukune would need as much training as possible, but even with Spider Sense, he didn't want to take the chance of Tsukune activating his full power and hitting him across the weird world.

"Awful lot of bugs for a place that is supposed to be for endangered beasts." Ben mentioned as he made it back with the group. The teens watched in awe as Tsukune took creatures down one after another.

"Ah," Ruby gasped, "I hadn't realized until right now...but excess power isn't flowing into me. That means...Tsukune's getting the hang of this. He's actually able to focus his power without overexerting himself."

"Oh fun, now he's scary." Ben joked.

As Tsukune battle the creatures he tried to relax his breathing. _Focus. _he thought, _Focus the yokai energy into the whip, don't overdo it. Let the power flow from the right side of my body to my left. _Soon the power built up in Tsukune's hand and was nearly visible.

"What? No, this is too fast." Ruby said, "I just started teaching Tsukune today, how could he come so far in such a short amount of time." In one fail swoop Tsukune released another crack of the whip and the resulting power knocked down all the creatures in the area. Tsukune laughed as he took long deep breaths before collapsing from exhaustion.

"So...I collapse and Ben can keep going, huh?" Tsukune chuckled, "Say what you want, his mental fortitude and stamina is on par with any monster here." Tsukune turned to his friends as they approached him, "Ruby...thank you for putting your life on the line." The other girls began to pout as they started to cling to Tsukune.

"Forget about her Tsukune, train with me!" Kurumu whined.

"I'd be a better pick for you, ice makes it difficult to move so this could test your stamina." Mizore added.

"You can dodge my magic!" Yukari threw in.

Ben walked over to Kokoa who was fuming that nobody was interested in training with her, but they're all over wanting to train with Tsukune, "Don't worry Coco. You and I can train together."

Moka began to walk over to Tsukune an noticed the whip on the ground. Upon picking it up her body transformed and she gave a slight chuckle of interesting, "So, a magical item that cancels out the power of the seal, huh?" Inner Moka stated as she gripped the whip in her right hand.

"What? The Inner Moka!?" Tsukune questioned, "But how? Me or Ben didn't remove the Rosario."

Ben glanced to Tsukune and removed his mask to show his friends how disappointed he was, "She just explained it, moron. 'A magical item that cancels out the power of the seal'. It doesn't get more self explanatory than that." Ben scoffed before putting his mask back on.

Moka chuckled, "So...you truly insist on getting stronger? Then this benefits me greatly." she gave a quick crack of the whip for fun, "What say you be my opponent. I've been itching for a good fight." she glanced at Ben slightly a motion that he didn't miss, especially when she smiled at Tsukune accepting the offer.

On the outside, Ben was unnaturally silent, but on the inside he was louder than ever. _WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!? __Is she trying to test me? Is she purposely trying to get a rise out of me?! What the hell? What was that all about!_ Ben mentally took some deep breaths before squinting his lenses, _You know what? I think this may be the start of my super villain origin story._

* * *

**Back in Ben's Dorm...**

_So you're jealous._ Dreamqueen said as she ate chocolate chip cookies Ben kept in his freezer.

"I'M NOT FUCKING JEALOUS!" Ben blushed in embarrassment at his outburst, "I'm just...upset that she turned me down for him."

_A-HA! You said 'turned me down.' You're treating this as an answer to your confession and you don't like what you heard._

"What? No...maybe. I don't know." Ben gripped his hair and groaned before sitting on his bed and hanging his head, "Why am I like this?"

Dreamqueen smiled and hugged Ben from his side, _It's not you specifically. It's just how love works sometimes. Jealousy is a common sign of love of someone or something...but too much jealousy can be overpowering, and you may end up burning bridges_. she warned as she gripped Ben's face with her thumb and index finger, _You hear me? Control. Your. Jealousy.__ Sometimes it's best to watch things play out. I'm not saying back off, just don't lash out._ Ben nodded and Dreamqueen smiled, _Now, what is it you want to see in your dreams today?_ she snapped her fingers and the room turned into a blank canvas.

"Actually...if it's okay with you, I just want to sit and talk some more."

A smile crept on Dreamqueen's face, _Of course._

* * *

Meanwhile, in the dorm next door, Tsukune tossed and turned in his dream. In his dream he was about to train with the Inner Moka, when all of a sudden they ended up in a bed. To Tsukune's surprise, Moka wasn't wearing any clothing and soon he wouldn't be either. The two got closer together as if something was about to happen until something in Tsukune told him to get up and he ended up kicking himself awake.

"No!" he yelled covering his mouth quickly hoping nobody heard him. "No, no, no, no, no, no. Not cool. Not cool." he moved quietly out of his dorm and ended up in front of Ben's room and began knocking on his door. "No, no, no, no, no." he continued whispering to himself. Soon the locks on the door were removed and the door opened to show a very tired looking Ben, shirtless and his hair a mess.

"Whaaaat?" Ben groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

"BEN!" Tsukune covered his mouth again before gripping Ben by his shoulders, "Ben, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so, so, so sorry!"

"...What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I had this dream, where me and Moka were together in bed, except it wasn't Moka, but Inner Moka. And we both were together in a bed, and I didn't have clothes and SHE didn't have clothes and we were up against each other. And I just had to tell you and apologize because I know how you feel about her and I don't want to--" Tsukune was interrupted after getting flicked in the balls. "I...I deserved that." he groaned as he leaned against the door for support.

"Yeah...but not for what you're thinking." Ben said as he rubbed his eyes, "You deserved it because you woke up, came over here, woke me up and apologized over a dream--which is a figment of your subconscious--AT THREE IN THE MORNING!" Ben groaned, "Besides...even if that did happen, what can I do? I don't own Moka. She can do whatever the fuck she wants. It's not like we're an item or something."

Tsukune blinked a few times before nodding, "Soooo...not angry?"

"No, but I will be if you wake me up at 3 AM again and it isn't an emergency." Ben said sternly before slamming the door in Tsukune's face. Ben walked back over to his bed and laid down and tried to go back to sleep with only one problem, "...Son of a bitch." he couldn't fall back asleep.

* * *

**Morning...**

_So what's your plan?_ Dreamqueen asked Ben as he wrote on a piece of paper, making a sort of shopping list.

"I'm going to grab supplies that I need and then I'm going to start my prototype Mk. III Spider Armor." Ben grinned, "I've been drawing up blueprints, and I think I've figured it out how it'll work."

Dreamqueen tapped her chin and nodded, _Wait...don't you mean Mk. II? Iron Spider?_

"No, Spider Armor and Iron Spider are two COMPLETELY different project's." Ben nodded as he grabbed his bag and cash, "I'm off!"

* * *

While Ben was out shopping for his supplies his Spider Sense felt more on edge than usual. While he was in a part of the school bazaar where he could get scrap metal (specific metals had to be 'special ordered' from the back room) he reached for what looked to be a whole silver ingot, which he figured would have been sold out. However when he removed it he saw a face staring back at him. "JESUS, YUKARI!?" Ben shouted in surprise almost throwing the ingot across the room. "What are you doing?" Yukari simply held her finger up to her mouth and pointed out into the middle of the walkway between different stores and stalls.

Ben squinted his eyes and tried looking at what Yukari was pointing at and to his surprise he found Tsukune, not training with Inner Moka, but ON A DATE. At least, that's clearly what it looked like to anyone who just took a glance at them. To make it worse for Ben, Tsukune was wearing a tracksuit while Moka wore a beautiful long red, spaghetti strap dress with a white sleeve-only coat. _Not jealous. _Ben told himself, _I. Am not...jealous. _He groaned as he quickly got his supplies and booked it for the Metalwork club.

Once at the Metalwork club Ben began furiously hammering away at his scrap metal and molding it into the shapes he wants for his armor. The club members of Metalworks were definitely confused at the outsider, "That dude is in the Newspaper club right?" one of the members asked. The other nodded in agreement, both equally confused.

"Excuse me?" Ben looked up to see an older boy, definitely a senior, with rounded glassed medium length messy hair. "Sorry to bother you, you seem awfully into whatever you're doing--OH! Sorry, I'm Takahashi Andersen." he held out his hand and Ben cocked an eyebrow, "Haha, I have as much viking in me as I do samurai warrior." he laughed, "I'm the president of the club and I couldn't help but notice...you're kinda out of place. So...what brings you here?"

Ben looked around the room before noticing an old flyer from the year before about a costume contest, "Uhhhh...cosplay?"

Takahashi blinked, "OH! Getting a leg up for Halloween season, huh? What's it gonna be, like a suit of armor for a Templar Knight?"

"Y-Yeah...something like that."

"Terrific! I can't wait to see how it turns out." he gave a smile that seemed too sincere before leaving Ben be.

_Guy was weird._ Ben thought as he went back to his work. Ben worked for as long as he could until it got late. In terms of progress...he got maybe half an arm done. _I may have to start pulling double shifts._ He then groaned in realization, _Triple because it'll go club, training, this._

* * *

The next day, like everyone else and because Kokoa got angry he didn't show up the day before, Ben joined the group for training inside the paradise. Ben met up with Kokoa who seemed awfully fired up to get started. Ben looked off to the side to see Moka and Tsukune had already started their training and he clenched his teeth without realizing it. "HEY!" Kokoa called out, bringing Ben back to reality, "You weren't here yesterday so you have to train extra hard with me! It's only fair, you got that!?"

Ben chuckled at Kokoa's tenacity, "Yeah. Bring it on." _Fine. I'll show you how strong I am too._

**To be continued...**

**A/N: New Chapter, not much to say. What else is new? MLB started up again so that's kinda cool. Um...New Logic album "No Pressure" is actually fire so...give it a shot. Halo Infinite got shown off. It looks pretty good, but the shading looks pretty wack. I hope they fix it by release time.**

**Welp, hope you guys are doing well. Favorite, Follow and remember to keep posting them juicy reviews.**


	15. Newspaper Summer Camp

**Newspaper Summer Camp**

* * *

It has been several weeks now and soon the first semester will be coming to an end. In terms of progress, Tsukune has made much of it during his training surpassing many peoples' expectations. Only 'many' because there are a few (Inner Moka) who are dissatisfied with his progress. As of right now, the two were interlocked in an intense sparring match in an open clearing that overlooks the water.

Tsukune cocked back his right fist and sent it forward with fearsome force only to miss due to Moka easily bobbing her head away from it. Tsukune gritted his teeth and quickly cocked back his left fist and as soon as he did so the Inner Moka sighed and sent out a fearsome high kick that knocked Tsukune in his jaw and sent him flying across the clearing. Tsukune sat up from where he landed and began rubbing his jaw to try and get rid of the pain. The wind blew and Moka moved her hair out of her eyes, "Tsukune, I'll give my judgment," Moka sighed and then looked down on Tsukune with an expression of disdain, "this isn't working at all." she said bluntly. Tsukune breathed heavily as all he could do was listen to Moka berate him, "You have vampire blood so you at least have the 'aptitude' to get stronger. You were very dutiful initially, so at least you're a fast learner. However, they're light...I'm speaking about your weakness, your fists." Moka frowned, "The things needed to win, you have no 'will' no 'killing intent'. So who on Earth are you planning to defeat?" Moka spun on her heels and began to walk away from the human, "Well, if you don't have the mind to do it, then we may as well just end the training. I don't want to waste more time doing it if it's like that."

Further away, in a small clearing in the forest, Ben sparred with Kokoa. Kokoa was still a novice when it came to hand-to-hand combat, but Ben felt like she was progressing rather quickly as well. He didn't know why, but she seemed to listen to him pretty well. Kokoa went to throw a punch of her own and Ben avoided the attack like nothing, instead of throwing a counter at Kokoa, Ben instead threw a handful of dirt in her face, "AGH! What the fuck!?" Kokoa cried out.

"Rule #67, watch out for environmental hazards, especially if your opponent uses them against you!" Ben shouted out as he backed away from Kokoa blindly throwing punches. Ben eventually grabbed her arms to stop her from flailing around and slammed her to the ground. Ben sat on top of her as he licked his thumb and began wiping the dirt from her eyes, "Rule #68, try to see what you hit. That means removing anything that may be hindering your ability." Kokoa only lied on the ground with a light blush on her face, _This is so embarrassing._

"OKAY, ENOUGH ALREADY!" Kokoa growled as she pushed Ben off her.

Ben chuckled, "Alright, let's run it back."

"Run it back?" Kokoa asked.

"Yeah, let's take it back to the point when you messed up. We'll go through it in slow motion and I'll explain to you what you did wrong and a possible solution that could be better." Ben nodded.

Kokoa frowned, "Don't you...want me to figure it out on my own?"

Ben chuckled, "Yeah, and you will. But just like teaching advanced equations it's best if you have an example to base your planning around. You should see the things that don't work and things that could work so that you can prepare yourself in a split seconds notice."

Kokoa frowned, "That's...a lot different than how Moka would do it."

Ben frowned slightly, "Yeah, but you and I aren't Moka, are we? Besides, I have more fighting experience than her." Ben popped his neck and motioned for Kokoa to come towards him, "Now come on, do it again in slow motion."

* * *

Ruby, who had secretly been listening in on Moka and Tsukune's conversation, went to the Headmaster and told him about the progress and the sudden halt in said progress. The two were down in the depths of the school where the Headmaster fiddled with the school's protective barrier, making sure that everything is functioning properly. "Hoh? So the training is coming to a halt?" the Headmaster hummed.

"Yes, Headmaster." Ruby bowed, "However, I think Moka's grueling training is starting to get to him. I feel for the next few days Tsukune won't be able to make much, if any progress." Ruby frowned as she worried for her friend. "Oh, but, isn't his overall growth just amazing, Headmaster?" Ruby smiled, "First he was just a human, then he went through ghoulification as well as harnessing his yokai power while battling. I mean, he's only come short of the moon!"

"Ruby," the Headmaster turned to the young witch, "You have some free time, so why don't you go to the human world and have a break."

Ruby stared at the Headmaster in shock before she gained a pouty face, "Am...Am I fired!?" she cried.

The Headmaster chuckled, "Why are you like that, the break is for more than just you. In the great barrier, if there are things I cannot see then sometimes it's good to reflect on everything by heading out. Also, the academy is conveniently going into summer break."

* * *

**Several Days Later...**

The Newspaper club had gotten the news from Ruby that they were allowed to go to the human world for a little break from life in academy. Eventually the club members piled off the bus and were taken in by the beautiful sight of the coast. With a large beach that seemed to stretch on for miles. "Wow, it's the sea!" Kurumu shouted out happily. Her, the Outer Moka, Yukari, and Mizore all stood by each other wearing their summer uniforms. Well...Mizore's summer uniform was the only one that was different as she still wore her light sweatshirt, she also had a parasol with her to try and stay as cool as possible.

"Go ahead and enjoy the time with your club members." Ruby said as she stepped off the bus. Ruby changed her attire to fit more into the human world, getting rid of the long dress and corset she instead has a white button up vest that showed off her midriff and a light, black sleeve-only coat as well as some bell bottom pants and slippers. _Why is her sense of fashion from the 70's? _Ben thought. "Now," Ruby continued, "Welcome everyone, to the Newspaper club Summer Camp. Because this is a Summer Camp, and because the Headmaster is providing it for us, do try to slowly tire yourselves out each day."

"YAHOO!" Karumu cheered as she jumped up and down by Mizore, "Let's go play in the sea!"

Mizore groaned, "You may be fine as a succubus, but a snow fairy like myself the sea is terribly hot."

"Pfft, at least you can go into the sea." Kokoa complained, "Big sis and I can't even touch water."

"I've never been much of a fan of the ocean." Ben stated. Ben wore a light, long sleeve button up shirt and t-shirt with joggers in order to hide his costume.

"What's the reason for that?" Yukari asked.

"Meta-human who is literally water. Like, he can solidify his body, but he can absorb and manipulate water kinda like Samdman with his sand." Ben groaned, "One time he got knocked into the harbor and we had to stop him by throwing liquid nitrogen into his body."

"Sounds like a nightmare." Kokoa cringed.

The students looked down the parking lot and too the beach. Tsukune really began to take in the scenery that felt so normal for him before, only for it to feel so foreign to him now. "Is everything okay, Tsukune?" Moka asked.

Tsukune shook his head and snapped back to attention, "Yeah. Recently all sorts of weird things have happened so it just feels so strange being peaceful. Anyways, we'll be lucky as long as we come back from this alright." he said with a slight smile.

Moka fiddled in place for a little bit before she spoke up again, "I'm...sorry, Tsukune." Moka apologized, causing Tsukune to gasp in surprise, "During the training the other day, the other me was saying horribly mean things to you. But I'll help you, so keep trying Tsukune!"

Tsukune looked as if something was wrong, "No, I'm sorry." he said as he bowed to Moka, "Regarding that...I have to tell you something--"

"What are you doing?" Moka asked, getting flustered from the sudden action, "Quit, everybody's watching!" she whisper yelled.

Tsukune swallowed a lump in his throat and continued, "I don't know if you know this or not...but recently the training has come to a halt." the other students looked to Tsukune and Ben squinted his eyes as he payed careful attention to what Tsukune was saying, "No matter how I do it, I can't become stronger. Or rather, I'm not able to. So that's why I want to--" Tsukune stopped when he heard a clicking sound, like from a camera. Turning his head Tsukune could see dozens of people formed around them and were taking pictures, "What the hell?" upon giving the crowd a quick listen he could tell they were only trying to take pictures of Moka. "Dammit!" Tsukune grabbed Moka's hand and ran off from everybody else.

"WAIT, TSUKUNE!" Mizore called out.

"Where are you going? We were already together!" Kurumu whined.

Kokoa groaned in annoyance, "Yeah right. I won't let you pull anything funny. Kou, after them! Be as much of a nuisance as possible!"

* * *

**Elsewhere...**

A man with a large briefcase opened up a door that led to the rooftop of a large tower in the center of the city. Walking along the roof he hummed the tune of "Black Hole Sun." Eventually he found a place on the roof her liked and set his briefcase down. Clicking the latches he opened it up to show several layers. On the top layer was a laptop which turned on and opened two separate windows. One small window showed what looked like information from someone's phone showing recent texts, calls and current gps location. The other larger window showed a text display saying "Camera Disconnected." The man then went to the second layer of the briefcase and pulled out a tripod with what looked to be a large camera attached to it. He then connected that camera to the laptop and the previously empty window now showed what the camera was seeing, which was the window to some building. Opening up the third layer the man pulled out pieces to a rifle which he then assembled together before putting in an extremely large scope and setting it against the railing on the roof before the man sat down to rest. "And now...we play the waiting game." the man reached to a pouch on his belt and pulled out a power bar as well as one of those single shot energy drinks.

* * *

**Back With Tsukune and Moka...**

Having finally escaped the large crowds of people, Tsukune and Moka walked along a walkway that stretched the boardwalk area. _I think I should stop the training. _Tsukune thought as he moped slightly, _I'm sure she'll be disappointed if I say that sort of thing. But what choice do I have? Power, speed, skill, I can't attain anything on the same level as Moka. I could never catch up to her...because no matter how much I try I can never become strong._ "So...what did you want to ask, Tsukune?" Moka asked him.

Tsukune sighed, "Moka...I..." before Tsukune could finish he was gut checked by something rushing quickly towards him sending both him and whatever hit him to the ground. "Why can I never have a serious conversation?" Tsukune groaned as he looked up to what ran into him. To his surprise it was a beautiful girl with long black hair tied with a ribbon in the back and a pokadotted sundress.

She held up a sign that read "I'm Sorry."

"Have we met this girl?" Tsukune asked and Moka shook her head.

"Oh, Tsukune, she's writing something." Moka pointed out.

"So can you not tal--" Tskune was cut off in surprise to what the woman added to the notepad.

"I'm Sorry, Please Save Me, I'm Being Chased." Tsukune heard footsteps approaching them. Turning around he saw really gruff yakuza looking men. "What's going on!? Who are these people? Why are they chasing--" Before Tsukune could finish he was hit in the back of his head with the butt of a pistol by a tall man with a large scar on his forehead.

The man pointed his gun at Moka and the girl and had them stand still as another man, presumably his boss, walked up to them. "Gufufu. Finally caught you, huh?" the boss man laughed. He was a medium height fat man with slicked back balding black hair, a mustache/goatee combo and a pair of shades. He also wore an all white suit with a flower pattern button up underneath. "Don't cause a ruckus, San." he said looking at the other woman.

Another henchman, a bald man, forced Moka to her knees and held her arm preventing her from reaching out to Tsukune. "So what should we do with this one, boss?"

"Bring her with us!" the fat man ordered, "If she's friends with San we could make some money off her."

Above where the incident occured flew Kou who kept a watchful eye on the situation and quickly flew off to report it to Kokoa and the others.

* * *

"What? Moka was kidnapped!?" the girls shouted in surprise as the group caught up to Tsukune who was slow to his feet.

"I'm...I'm sorry." Tsukune apologized. He looked as if he was trying to fight back tears, something both Ben and Ruby noticed.

"We have to find Moka and save both her and that mysterious woman if possible!" Yukari mentioned.

"Got it." Ben nodded, "Found."

"HUH?!?" the group asked in surprise.

Ben groaned slightly, "I figured one of us would get in trouble, so I placed tracers on everybody's shoes when we were on the bus." Ben smirked, "Now that we are in an area where GPS is always on I can find their beacon easy."

Kokoa jumped in the air in joy, "So that means we can go save big sis!"

"Those humans won't know what hit 'em!" Yuakri added.

"I wouldn't try it." the monsters jumped in surprise at the voice of the bus driver and him lighting a cigar, "When in the human world monsters cannot bring harm to humans, lest they will break the ancient contract."

Ben looked over to Tsukune who was clenching his fists. _I should go. _Tsukune thought, _But...But I don't know if I'll be of any help._ "My time to shine." Ben said as he stripped into his costume, "This is vigilante work. You guys stay back, I have it handled." Ben jumped into the air and swung off leaving the Bus Driver to chuckle approvingly. "I'll show that old man. 'May become a liability' my ass!" Ben seethed as he swung towards the beacon.

* * *

The man who sat atop the tower heard a beeping noise coming from his laptop. Upon inspecting it he saw the man had been active with his text messages in the last couple of minutes. One he read caught his eye, "I just got back." The man smirked as he looked at the other window to see people moving around the room his camera was fixated on. "Goooood." he smiled. He grabbed his rifle and flicked open the bipod and set it up on the ledge. He began adjusting the scope accordingly, "Okay...five kilometers. Wind blowing...roughly 3 kilometers per hour." He took a deep breath and leaned his head to his right so he could peak through the scope. "C'mon bastard, go next to the window."

* * *

Moka sat in a room with the fat man and the mysterious woman they called "San." It was small, and it was shady. Definitely nothing legitimate happening in there. "Dang boss, just look at her. That's one hell of a woman." of the mooks commented as he smelled Moka's hair. Moka just gulped and sat silently.

"So," the boss started, "tell me, how long have you known San here?"

"I just met her." Moka replied quietly, "She was searching for help."

"Don't try and lie to me." the boss said sternly, "San here doesn't like to involve people she doesn't know. A good friend like you, who San could rely on knows about her secret, right?" the man smiled before he lit a cigarette and continued, "San here has a special power. People with this power can control both money and people to their hearts content."

Moka gasped, "You mean..." **_No. Stop, I know what you are doing. Don't let his influence get to you. _**"She works for the bank?" Moka smirked.

The boss seemed unamused at Moka's antics and he snapped his fingers, "Fine, just know that just because we brought you with us doesn't mean we have to take care of you." the other men smiled as they walked over and began touch Moka all over the place.

"NO!" Moka cried out as she tried to get out of their grasps.

Suddenly the door to the room blasted off its hinges as Spider-Man walked through the door, "Hi there, did somebody order a pizza?" Spidey looked over towards Moka and saw the man that had his hands groping her chest, "I'm breaking your arms first." Spidey said as he pointed to the man. Shooting a web line he zipped over next to the bald man who pulled out his gun and aimed it at Spider-Man's head. Spidey knocked the man's hand away causing him to firing at the wall, Spidey then forcibly ripped the pistol out of the man's hands and palmed his elbow in the opposite direction causing it to bend completely the other way. The bald man screamed bloody murder as Spider-Man performed a cobra strike on his chest and sent him flying at his friends.

"You son of a--!" the boss grabbed a pistol and went to fire it, but Spider-Man had gunked up the barrel with his webbing before the bullet could come out. Spider-Man then quickly kicked the boss out of his couch and had him land on the table behind him by the window. "GET HIM!" The boss shouted as he flipped the table over and his behind it.

Spider-Man quickly webbed Moka into his arms in order to avoid her being used as a hostage by one of the other mooks. He spun Moka around in his arms before setting her on the couch near San. Spider-Man then sat down between the two women and kicked his feet up on the coffee table while he put his arms around the women's shoulders. "Ladies." he started, "Good to see all of you, sorry I was late. Had to find the right floor." Using his adhesive ability he picked up the coffee table with his feet and kicked it at the three goons before webbing them all to the ground.

* * *

Back at the tower the man looked through his scope at the window and frowned. "What the hell is going on in there?" he asked. He got ready to pull the trigger but his target kept moving his head, "Stop moving, asshole. I have one shot at this." Finally the target stood still and the man pulled the trigger. However, as soon as he pulled the trigger his target was yanked away from his position and all he hit was glass and a table, "WHAT THE HELL!?" the man yelled, "Who interrupted my..." taking a look at the camera image shown on the laptop he smiled at what he saw. "Oh...well he's worth five times more than the initial target." the man smiled.

* * *

While Spider-Man sat in the couch with Moka and San he felt his Spider Sense tingle, it was specific too, he could sense a powerful weapon. Flipping himself off the couch he looked at the boss near the window and his Spider Sense tingled again. This time he could sense a bullet flying towards them. Thinking quickly, Spider-Man attached a webline to the boss and pulled him forward. Just as he did so the window behind the boss exploded and a large hole wss put into the table. "WOAH!" Spidey exclaimed, "Looks like I wasn't the only one who's mad at you." Spider-Man picked the big man by his throat and then spiked him into the floor, knocking him out instantly.

Spider-Man quickly surveyed near the window, but could no longer sense or see anything. "Better stay on guard." walking back to the ladies he led them out the door, "Ladies first. Let me...clean up real quick.

Spider-Man quickly brought the men downstairs while the police were called and picked them up. They didn't seem to question Spider-Man in any way, they actually thanked him surprisingly. Spidey looked over to the teens to see Moka hugging Tsukune, Tsukune still had that unsure look in his face though. Spidey sighed and began to rejoin the teens after the police had taken off. "You ladies are all good?" he asked and the two girls in question nodded. "Good." he nodded. Spider-Man widened his lenses in surprise, _SPIDER SENSE!_

"_Don't go around celebrating so willy nilly_." a voice stated in English, seemingly calling out to Spider-Man, "_You owe me a bounty, kid. Better come with me and make it easier on both of us._"

"_No._" Spider-Man whispered, "_No, no. Nononononononono, please, please, PLEASE don't be who I think it is._" Spider-Man peaked behind him and saw just what he feared, a tall man in a blue armored suit with orange around his biceps as well as white boots, gloves, rocking white underwear on the outside of his suit. He also had a belt with multiple pouches as well as pouches on his legs. Most importantly was the white hooded cloak he wore and skull mask. He didn't have them in his hand, but the man also had a shield and a greatsword. "_FUCK!_" Spider-Man shouted.

"What, what is it?" Kokoa asked.

"This is literally the last person I ever want to see!" Spider-Man replied with a frustrated tone.

The man in question picked up that his opponent could speak Japanese, and so he switched and did the same. "Hey there, Slick. Long time, no see."

Spider-Man groaned, "Unfortunately not long enough...Taskmaster."

Taskmaster chuckled as he drew out his greatsword and pointed it towards Spider-Man, "You owe me Fifty Gs for that botched bounty. I know you don't exactly have the funds on you so I'll just...take it your head."

The teens looked at Spider-Man with concerned faces. "Stay back." Spider-Man warned with a very serious tone, "You know the rules. Tsukune...I can tell you want to help, but this isn't the opponent to do so." Tsukune gulped as Spider-Man stepped forward and got into a fighting stance. "Alright Tasky, this is what? Round 4? I still owe you for breaking my ribs last time I saw you."

Taskmaster chuckled as he looked at the vigilante, "Please, don't think you actually stand a chance, clone. I know your moves inside and out three times over from the last time I saw you! You stand no chance of survival."

Spider-Man scoffed, "Yeah, well I know your sister inside and out three times over from the last time I saw her!" Spider-Man stood up and fist pumped, "BOOYAH! HELL YEAH! He does not MISS! Ohhhh, baby how can a mans this clean be spitting this dirty!"

**_Oh my god. Someone shut him up._**

"Nice try, kid." Taskmaster replied, "I don't have a sister."

"Eh, miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take." Spidey shrugged. Taskmaster grabbed his shield from of his back and prepared for a fight. Spidey immediately shot a webline forward and went for a zip punch, but Taskmaster blocked it with his shield.

"Please, kid. Get new material. You're so predictable. I mean, you literally start off with the same attack every time." Taskmaster taunted before swinging his sword. Spider-Man performed a back handspring to avoid the slash and shot a web ball at Taskmaster's face. The mercenary used his shield to protect him from his opponents ranged attacks, "Not falling for that twice, either."

"Oh, c'mon. That's like saying you don't like to hear the same joke twice. Sure you know the punchline, but sometimes you let it hit you, y'know?" Spider-Man shot another web ball at Taskmaster and this time the mercenary dodged it, having it attach to a lamppost. "Who knows, sometimes the change in delivery can get you twice." Taskmaster widened his eyes as the web ball behind him shot a webline to his hand and pulled his arm to the post.

"A web trip mine?" Taskmaster asked, "Very clever." Before the mercenary knew it he was getting his face pummeled by the vigilante leading to the group of teens to cheer. With one final punch, Spider-Man knocked Taskmaster out of the webbing and onto the ground. "Ha!" Taskmaster laughed as he stood back up, "Tell your fan club over there that the warm up is over."

"What did he say!?" Kokoa shouted out.

"He said the warm up is over!" Spider-Man shouted back. Spidey got back into his fighting stance and waited for Taskmaster to get up. The mercenary wiped the dust off his armor before putting away his shield and sword and opting for a hand-to-hand exchange.

Kokoa scoffed, "That makes no sense. If he couldn't beat Reilly with weapons what makes him think he'd win in hand-to-hand?" the students all nodded their heads in agreement. It did seem weird that switching to hand-to-hand would provide an advantage.

"Ya ready, Slick?" Taskmaster said as he got into a stance that mimicked Spider-Man's in every way possible. The two quickly began clashing in a barrage of punches and kicks. Each attack Spider-Man would throw would be countered by another attack that Spider-Man commonly used. Spider-Man threw a right hook just to have his arm twisted around and shoulder dislocated.

"Agh!" Spider-Man seethed in pain as he was kicked away. Quickly he relocated his shoulder and avoided a superman punch from Taskmaster. "Two can play at that game!" Spider-Man went up for a superman punch and when Taskmaster went to block he quickly shot a webline down so he could get under the mercenary's defenses. Spider-Man then sent a massive uppercut to Taskmaster and sent him flying across the roadway. Spider-Man quickly zipped to the mercenary in order to follow up.

"NICE TRY!" Taskmaster shouted as he shot something from a gauntlet on his wrist. Spider-Man didn't have enough time to dodge and was hit by an extremely powerful taser that immediately made him drop to the ground. "Hahaha." Taskmaster laughed as he dusted himself off again, "Did you really think I wouldn't upgrade myself since the last time we met? ESPECIALLY with that bitchin taser web you used against me. It gave me inspiration to make one of my own, but stronger." Spider-Man struggled to stand up and Taskmaster continued to laugh, "I also added this." he shot his wrist forward to have a thin metallic rope blast out and attach itself to the ground by Spider-Man, Taskmaster was then able to pull himself forward like he was performing a web zip and punch Spider-Man back towards the teens. "You have no idea how blissful this is." Taskmaster said as he let out a satisfied breath, "I could probably get more money for you if I deliver you to Fisk alive...buuuuuut, you've been such a thorn in my side." Taskmaster pulled out his sword and let it slide along the ground as he got closer to the vigilante.

_No! _Tsukune thought. _We have to do something...we.__.._Tsukune clenched his teeth, _They can't do anything. If a monster hurts a human then that could mean some sort of war!_ Tsukune looked up to his friend and narrowed his eyes in determination. _But I can do something._

"Well kid, it's been real...I mean, you weren't but the time we shared together sure as hell was." Taskmaster lifted up his arm with sword in hand and was ready to cut Spider-Man's head off.

"NOOOO!!" Tsukune shouted as he rushed forward and threw a massive right hook across the mercenary's face and sent him sliding across the ground. "You leave him alone!"

Spidey, still paralyzed from the electrocution, tried to reach out for Tsukune, "Noooo..." he groaned, "Dumbass, I told you stay back!"

"Ohhh," Taskmaster hummed, "You're pretty strong kid, much stronger than I anticipated." He stood up and stabbed his sword in the ground, "Okay, kid. Let's see what you've got." Tsukune got into his fighting stance that he was taught to use by Moka and Taskmaster hummed at the sight. Taskmaster held his hand out and motioned for the teen to come after him.

Tsukune let out a battle cry and launched forward. Every punch he threw Taskmaster dodged almost as if he knew exactly what was coming after him. "Okay. I get it now. That's a pretty advanced martial art kid, however, how you're using it is a little weird. It specializes mostly in kicks, not punches." Taskmaster soon got into a stance that made Tsukune gasp in surprise, "I bet your master's stance looks like this."

"No way..." Kokoa gasped.

"That's Moka's stance!" Kurumu shouted out.

Tsukune gritted his teeth. _Don't let it get to you. It's Moka's stance, so what? He doesn't know how to fight like her!_ Tsukune rushed forward and cocked his right arm back before sending a hook which Taskmaster bobbed underneath. _No way...he's avoiding it the same way._ Tsukune quickly cocked his left hand back. "Nice try, kid. But no dice." Taskmaster said before countering with a high kick to Tsukune's jaw and knocking him backwards. _No way...same counter? Same movement? How? How can he do that, it doesn't make sense!_

Taskmaster grabbed his sword from the ground and approached the downed teen. He swung down with his sword but was shocked when the teen caught the sword between his hands, "Well you are just FULL of surprises!" the mercenary laughed, "But I can still do this!" Taskmaster quickly yanked back and cut Tsukune's hands to hell causing the teen to yell out in pain, "Like that? Sharpened to the molecule. I can cut through whole buildings with this baby." Taskmaster put his sword away and kicked Tsukune across the face before aiming his left gauntlet at the teen. "Sorry kid, it's nothing personal. You just got in the way of business. You know, someone like you, if trained properly, could make a pretty intimidating mercenary." Taskmaster tapped his chin before shrugging, "Eh, job pool is big enough as is. Oh well, see ya kid."

"Get away from him!" Spider-Man shouted as he tackled Taskmaster away from Tsukune before slamming him to the ground. "This fight is between us, Taskmaster. You and me. He and the rest of those kids don't have anything to do with this."

"Well, if you can get him to back off, by all means." Taskmaster said as he cracked his knuckles, "You have thirty seconds."

Spider-Man walked over to Tsukune, "Ben..." Tsukune said quietly, "Ben I'm sorry. I thought I could take him. I thought--"

"Get up." Spider-Man motioned. Tsukune looked down in disappointment, "Get. Up." Spidey commanded before forcefully lifting Tsukune to his feet. Spidey then grabbed Tsukune by his jaw and began pushing him back towards the teens, "Next time, when I tell you, 'he's too dangerous just back off' that means: Stay. The Fuck. BACK!" Spider-Man yelled as he shoved Tsukune back and had him slide to the teens. "Please." Tsukune's eyes widened when her heard the despair in his friend's voice.

"Alright Taskmaster Blaster, let's finish this fight." Spider-Man shook off whatever paralysis he was still feeling and put up his hands to fight.

"By all means, do try." Taskmaster replied as he too put up his fists like Spider-Man.

"You sound confident, for someone who is running low on gas." Spidey taunted, "Face it Tasky, at the end of the day I'll always beat you because I can take a stronger beating than you." Spider-Man shot a webline which was dodged by the mercenary.

"How many times are you going to try the same tired tricks?" Taskmaster groaned in annoyance.

Spider-Man chuckled, "Whenever they stop working." pulling hard on the webline Spider-Man was able to pull the top off a fire hydrant causing water to spread in a large puddle all over the street. Thinking quickly, Spider-Man jumped in the air and shot a taser web at the ground where the water formed. This resulted in the electricity to spread along the water and even stop Taskmaster in his tracks as he was completely wet. Spider-Man then shot two weblines at the ground and yanked himself down so he could drop kick the mercenary in the face. As Taskmaster stood up Spider-Man continued his assault and finished his barrage with a strong left straight to Taskmaster's head. The force sent the mercenary flying through a wall.

Spider-Man breathed heavily before walking to the hole in the wall. _SPIDER SENSE!_ Before Spidey knew it a flash bomb lit in his face, blinding him for nearly a minute. When his vision returned Taskmaster was gone, all that was left was a torn cloak and a note. "You win this time." read the note.

* * *

The teens decided to regroup away from the commotion that had been caused due to the battle. Ben, now back in street clothes, leaned against a wall in pain. A black eye, some cuts and many bruises were visible on his face alone. San bowed to Ben and held up a sign. Ben looked at Yukari and motioned toward the sign, "It says 'Thank You'." Yukari read. Ben nodded and gave a thumbs up. "So this is San." Yukari added, "Isn't she just cute?"

"Adorable." Ben groaned, "No woman is cute enough to warrant nearly getting merced over though."

"Speaking of 'merc,'" Kokoa started, "Who the hell was that guy? It was like he knew everything you were going to do."

Ben sighed and rubbed his temples, "That...was Taskmaster. A mercenary, bad dresser and overall dickhead. He's also in the S-tier when it comes to 'Humans You Absolutely Don't Want To Fuck With.'" Ben laughed but held his side, "Guy is pretty much a super soldier and prepares for any battle to the best of his ability. He's fluent in every form of kicking your ass. No kidding, the man knows just about every martial art created. He gets that partially from his 'gift' as well as his training."

"Gift?" Moka asked.

"Remember that part where he copied the Other Moka's stance and technique? Yeah. His gift is a special type of photographic memory. He can watch your fighting style and will learn the pros and cons to it in a matter of minutes. That's why he's dangerous. Not just against humans, but those with powers too. With how well prepared he is...I wouldn't be surprised if he was prepared to fight a monster." Ben sighed before looking at Tsukune, "Tsukune...I'm sorry I snapped. But you can at least see what I mean. Had it been literally anybody else I would have accepted your assistance with open arms. But because of who it was...me snapping was more out of fear and not anger. I am sorry though."

Tsukune gulped at what Ben was saying, "Do you think..." Tsukune started, "Do you think that if it was Moka instead of me he still would have won?"

Ben was silent for some time before giving an answer, "Yes." he nodded, causing the others to gasp, "His sword is more than just a molecule edge, it's made of carbonadium." Ben explained, "The chemical compounds in carbonadium make it both a sturdy metal, but also can stop healing factors for quite some time. So yeah, I think that Taskmaster is more than prepared to fight a vampire. The reason why I am able to beat him is because I have enough experience to realize I shouldn't show all my tricks, as well as constantly having new ones in order to outsmart him." Ben spat out a large blob of blood onto the ground, "Taskmaster is...a very dangerous man."

"There you all are!" the teens turned and were surprised to see Gin and Nekonome had followed them to the human world. "Getting into trouble already I see." Gin looked at Ben and nodded, "What the hell happened to you?"

"You should've been here. Dickhead." Ben replied as a sharp pain shot up his side.

Nekonome smiled and hugged San, "I see you met San. Gin's senpai." the others gave a look of surprise, "She was a third year when Gin was a freshman and the Newspaper club president. She'll be taking care of us for the next few days." San smiled in response.

**To be continued..**

**.****A/N: What's this? Taskmaster? Who could have seen this coming? Nobody, I...I can almost guarantee people were either pleasantly surprised or really confused he showed up.**

**Yeah, this chapter is mostly a "I still have what it takes" kinda of chapter for Ben. The next few should be exciting too, as well as an...interesting idea I'm not sure everyone will be on board for but, oh well.**

**Anyways, Favorite, Follow and Review.**


	16. Responsibility

**Responsiblity**

* * *

Nekonome patted San on the head as she introduced her to the group, "She's San Otonashi. She graduated from Yokai Academy two years ago. During that year she was the president of the Newspaper club, so I guess you could say she's everybody's senpai!" Nekonome smiled.

Ben, like most the others was dumbfounded by the girl's cuteness. To him she looked small and fragile like a porcelain doll. "Okay, but why doesn't she talk?" Ben asked, "Like, is it supposed to add to her cuteness? Does she not have a tongue? What's the reason?"

Nekonome laughed and waved her hand, "Oh, nothing like that. She's just shy." The students seemed to give Nekonome a look that said they weren't very convinced. Nekonome laughed nervously, but continued introductions, "San-chan here is living in this town and is working at a small motel near the seaside. We'll be staying there tonight, so could everyone try not to cause trouble for her?" Nekonome then stared at Ben, "And I mean EVERYONE."

Ben made a facial expression that said 'really?' and he shrugged his shoulders lazily, "I already got my ass kicked today, no reason to beat me while I'm down." San smiled and tried to hold back laughter. She lifted up her notepad to show the others what she was saying. Ben looked to Kokoa who was standing next to him and motioned her to read it for him.

"Are you serious?" Kokoa laughed haughtily, "The mighty genius is illiterate!? Well, I should've known there was something wrong with you. Stupid, pathetic human." she smiled. Ben rolled his eyes in response, "Ugh! She said she'll show us to the motel. God." Kokoa folded her arms and turned away from Ben as response.

The teens began following San and Nekonome as they led them to the motel they would be staying at for the time. During the walk Tsukune looked around at the different lights around them taking notice to the many seafood bars and arcades. He then took notice of his friends and how they seemed to be enjoying the sights themselves, while Ben just looked ahead and limped with a pained expression. Tsukune then looked ahead to San and gained a sad expression, _So those who don't want to pursue higher education already have a job. _he thought, _It's really quite amazing, even though humans have problems finding employment a monster like San was able to support herself this whole time. _Tsukune then looked at his friends again with the thought of the future weighing on his mind, _I wonder...what everyone would do once they come to the human world. _Tsukune looked at Ben and smirked, _I think, out of all of us, Ben is the only one who's future seems certain. He'll probably keep swinging around and stopping crime while simultaneously trying to weigh a job or maybe even school at the same time. _Tsukune then swallowed a lump in his throat, _What would someone like Moka do? No, more inportantly...what would I do?__ What will we all do with our lives?_

* * *

Eventually the group made it to the motel. The motel itself wasn't very large, it was two storys and a little run down. San told them to hang back while she explains the situation. She quickly ran up to the entrance where a man stood sweeping. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and had short hair spikey hair as well as a large shirt and jeans and boots. When San approached him he seemed almost surprised to see her again, "San? What're you doing back 'ere?" Ben frowned slightly as the man's dialect was making it hard for him to understand what was being said. The man put down what he was doing and walked up to the small woman, "Ya disappeared four days ago wi'out sa much'a goodbye. I thought cha ran away or sumthin'."

San quickly moved her hands over her notepad and held it up for the man to see. "I'm sorry. Please allow me to work here again from today onwards." she wrote.

The man frowned and gritted his teeth as if he didn't want her around, "Not happenin' yer already fired, San." San recoiled back in surprise, "It's expected, nah? We har'ly got any employees, yet you ran off to nowhere and coz'a that we had big problems!" the man yelled.

Nekonome frowned and made herself known, "Excuse me! There is a reason due to San's unexplained absence. She was kidnapped and taken to a yakuza office in order to make money off her." she explained, "Luckily, her good friends were able to help her out of her predicament." Nekonome smiled as she stood proudly with her hands on her hips.

Again, the man frowned and gave an annoyed look, "Huh? Like I care." he then forcibly shoved San's shoulder away, "Now hurry up an' get outta 'ere." Ben stepped forward, but Gin cut him off and got right in the man's face.

"Hey you. That ain't no way to treat a lady now, is it?" he questioned as he poked the man in the chest, "You heard what teach said, there was a mistake, so why don't you hold off on that firing a bit?"

"Please do it for us!" Moka spoke up, "Isn't there anyway you could reconsider!?"

"Isn't this all arbitrary?" Kurumu asked.

"You must reconsider!" Yukari joined in, her fist in the air.

The man looked all around at the teens that seemed to come out of nowhere with a surprised expression, "What the hell? Where'd all these friends o' San come from? Freakin' hurry up an' get lost! If I fired her then she's fired!" The air seemed silent after he said that. The teens didn't leave, but perhaps it was due to the shadowy figure that stood behind the man.

"Oi." The figure called out as she stepped into the light more. She was an older looking woman, likely in her mid to late thirties. She had long blond hair with a hair clip to keep the bangs out of her eyes. She wore a light yellow blouse with white lace around the chest area that outlined her breasts and she wore rolled up tight jeans. The woman leaned against the door frame as she held an open beer can in her hand. She took another drink for the can before she continued, "Takahashi, whatever privileges I said you had, well...the privilege to fire absent employees stops at me alone." she stated before downing the rest of her drink.

The man, named Takahashi as it turns out, gulped in surprise, "Boss? B-but she was--"

"So?" the Boss interrupted, "If San quits wouldn't end up being more of a bother for us?" Takahashi, feeling defeated scoffed and stormed off somewhere else. _What a prick. _Ben thought. The Boss sighed before smiling, "I'm glad you've returned." she said as she patted San's head, "I was worried about you." San nodded and wiped tears from her eyes, "You all must be the guests from Yokai Academy, yes? I'm surprised they are from your former school, San. Well, it's a worn down motel, but please, make yourselves at home. I am Marin Kawamoto, I own and manage the motel."

"She seems so nice." Moka whispered as her and the girls huddled together.

"And she's really friendly with San-senpai." Kurumu added.

Marin clasped her hands together before she covered her mouth to hide a burp, "Well, how about I show you to your rooms?"

Ben quickly wrapped his arm around Tsukune's neck and chuckled slightly, "Actually, Tsukune and I will have to hold off on that. He and I are going to hit the town!"

"What?" Tsukune asked with a worried expression.

"Ohhhh yeah, buddy. We've been through a lot, you and I. Now's the time to blow off some steam, lick our (my) wounds and get something to settle the roar in our stomachs." Ben said as he tugged at Tsukune, "I saw some Chinese restaurants a ways back, and honestly that sounds delicious. Hey, Gin! You coming?"

Gin turned back and rolled his eyes, "Wow...hard pass." he stated.

Ben scoffed, "Fine, you weren't invited anyways." Ben began walking back the way they came with Tsukune in tow, "Come on, Tsukune! Guys night, WOOO!"

Ms. Nekonome gained a worried expression as two of her students began wandering off in the human world, alone. "Hold on, Mr. Reilly!" she called out, "I-If you leave now, then I'll expel you!"

"Then you better start drawing up those expulsion papers!" Ben yelled back causing Nekonome to wince.

"Oooooh, I didn't think he'd call my bluff." Nekonome whined as she slumped her shoulders.

* * *

Ben and Tsukune sat at a table alone together in a small restaurant that served, surprisingly, American-Chinese food. Tsukune had trouble deciding on what to eat since a lot of the food consisted of chicken drenched in a sugary and/or spicy sauce or it was tons of noodles. Ben went ahead and ordered a bunch of food for the two of them. He wasn't sure what Tsukune would like so he just ordered things that sounded good. Pork fried rice, Egg Foo Young, Chicken Lo-Maine, Chow-Maine, Beef and Brocolli, even some seafood like fried shrimp and crab puffs. "This is...a lot of this is fried." Tsukune said as he took notice to the Sweet n' Sour chicken as well as most of the seafood dishes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what makes it 'American-Chinese'." Ben said as he slurped up noodles from his Lo-Maine. "Sho..."Ben started as he chewed his food, "What's up? You seem down lately."

Tsukune recoiled back slightly and gave a nervous smile, "What? W-What makes you think something is wrong?" Tsukune rested his chin on his hand and leaned against the table, "Everything is..." he frowned slightly and swallowed a lump in his throat, "Everything's fine."

Ben dropped his chopsticks on the table and looked at Tsukune with a disappointed face, "Tsukune, dude, think of all the things you and I have been through together. Think of maybe an hour ago! I know when something's wrong." Ben scoffed slightly, "C'mon man, I know depression when I see it. So don't jerk my jimmies, tell me what's up."

Tsukune let out a slight laugh, '''Jerk your jimmies'?" he repeated, "What the hell does that even mean?"

"It means don't give me the run around. C'mon, quit stalling. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on." Ben took one of the empty plates on their table and put it on the table behind them and hoped they'd get a little more privacy if people thought that table was dirty at the moment. It probably wasn't needed, the business seemed almost dead, actually the lady taking their order seemed thrilled that they got so much.

The smile Tsukune once had quickly disappeared as he began to think about how he would explain his issues to be. He sighed as he began messing with the food in front of him, "Well...it's about my training." he started. Ben wiped his face and began listening intently to his friend, "I...I don't know if I can keep going through with it. My learning has halted. I'm not getting any stronger." Tsukune gripped his pants as he fought back tears, "If I can't get stronger then I'm nothing more than a liability." he took a deep breath and sighed, "Moka's right, there's no reason--"

"What was that?" Ben interrupted, he perked up at the sound of Moka's name, "What did she tell you?"

Tsukune just shrugged, "She said that, as a vampire, I need the will to have killing intent to beat my opponents." Ben scoffed and shook his head.

"That bitch." he muttered. "Check, please!" he called out. Quickly after paying the check, Ben grabbed Tsukune's wrist and took him to the beach. There the two were away from everyone else, the tourists and others who came to enjoy the ocean were long gone. It was just them and the high tide.

"What are we doing here?" Tsukune asked, almost groaning. Before he knew it he felt a punch in his gut that made him keel over slightly, "What the hell!?" he gasped out.

"Did that hurt?" Ben asked.

"Wha--YES!" Tsukune held his gut as he stood up.

"Are you dead?"

"No."

Ben then crossed his arms and smiled, "Do you get it?" Tsukune opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but quickly closed it. Ben sighed as he gripped Tsukune by his shoulders, "You DO NOT have to kill in order to beat your opponent!" Ben yelled as he shook his friend, "You can still beat the shit out of someone and not kill them, it's a matter of restraint!" Ben stopped shaking Tsukune and let his friend regain his senses. Ben then quickly wrapped his arm around Tsukune's shoulder and had him face the sea, "Now, we are in a secluded place. Nobody is around, so they won't hear you. That ocean," Ben pointed to the waves coming in and out, "is Moka, and I want you to tell her exactly how you feel about what she told you."

Tsukune gulped slightly as he took several deep breaths as he looked to the waves coming up to the shore. "I...I..." Tsukune closed his eyes and took a breath, "I'M NOT LIKE YOU!!" he yelled out, "I can't do all the things you do, blood or no blood, I'm still human! So what makes you think I want to kill!? I DON'T WANT TO KILL ANYBODY YOU COLD HEARTED BITCH!!!" Tsukune took several breaths as tears formed in his ducts.

Ben walked up to him and patted his back, "Good. You feel better?" Tsukune nodded, "Good, the next time she tells you something like that...punch her fucking teeth." Tsukune looked at Ben, confused at the hostile tone, "Predators tend to respect their prey a lot more when they fight back. Now...about learning how to fight."

"Ben I told you, I can't do any more. It's better if I quit." he sighed.

"Oh no, that ain't happening." Ben replied causing Tsukune to look at him in surprise, "Yeah, sorry bud, I know you didn't ask for those powers, but you have them now. You have a responsibility to use that power for the greater good. It's a task that isn't forgiving, and you likely won't get any praise when you do well, but it's a life you'll have to live now."

Tsukune blinked a few times in confusion, "But...why?"

"Because I see it in you Tsukune. I saw it last year and I saw it earlier today. You have the passion and drive to help others! No matter how much danger there is you are still willing to put yourself in harms way if it means protecting people." Ben took a deep breath and continued, "I know I snapped at you today, and fear did get the best of me...but when you jumped in like that, I was incredibly proud. I was proud because I know that if our roles were reversed...I would have done the exact same thing. Tsukune, you show what the best heroes out there show. Captain America, Luke Cage, Peter...you show heart. That you care for others around you. That's the makings of a great hero. So don't let things like 'killing intent' get to you. Because you don't need to kill anyone to save the day. You just have to do what you think is right."

Tsukune stared at Ben with wide eyes, "But...what about what Moka said? What if I can't get stronger."

"Fuck what she said." Ben replied as he brushed off the question, "You just need to learn to measure your opponents strength."

"Measure their strength?" Tsukune asked.

"Yeah, I mean, you can't go all out on everyone you see. You'll kill someone, right?" Tsukune nodded, "But at the same time you can't keep pulling your punches. You need to adapt with the fight. When you see your opponent is sticking with you the whole time then you need to increase your power. That means, stop treating Moka like she's a human or even if she's in her other form. Inner Moka is much more durable than both you and me. That means you can go ahead and try a little harder, alright?"

Tsukune nodded, "Yeah, I think I understand."

Ben chuckled, "Good. But remember not to always use the same attacks on her. Mix it up a little, fight dirty. She won't expect it." The two began to leave the sandy beach and walked back up to the street. "So...we can go back, or..." Ben smiled, "I could show you something really cool."

* * *

**Back at the Motel...**

Off behind the motel on a concrete dock over looking the ocean, Takahashi frantically paced back and forth and shakily lit a cigarette. Finally after a couple of drags he pulled out his phone and made a call. "C'mon, C'MON!" he said impatiently as he began tapping his foot. Finally there was a click signifying someone answered the phone.

_"Shuei Industries.__" _the voice answered on the other line.

"Hello, boss!?' Takahashi leaned down as if he was trying to hide that he was talking on the phone, "What the hell is going on here? That girl, San, she came back to the motel! This is completely different to what we agreed on. You were going to take care of everything so I co-operated. I went and pretended as if she ran away and even forged a letter of resignation!" he frantically threw his cigarette over the side of the dock and into the ocean below, "But she came back and ruined it. Everything was a lie. Whadda'm I sposed to do?"

_"Ohhh, went back to the motel did she?" _the other voice replied. Takahashi's eyes widened. That voice didn't belong to the man he was working with, nor did it belong to anybody the boss worked with.

"Y-You aren't the boss." Takahashi stuttered, "Whaddya do with him?"

The man on the other line laughed, _"Well...you're boss messed up. Don't worry, he's alive...for now. But come tomorrow morning they may find him dead in his cell.__" _

Takahashi paced trying to figure out was going on until the realization hit him, "Wait...you're part of that organization. Fairy Tail, right? You guys hired Shuei Industries to kidnap San, weren't ya?" the other side was silent making Takahashi believe that his fears were true, "Look I...I don't have any business with you. The boss had me take care of a whole bunch a stuff, so I had to co-operate."

_"A-ha, then you can co-operate with me too, no?" _the other man asked with a laugh, _"I'm thinking you have to make San lonely. If she has a place to go then the moment we capture her she'll just escape again. I don't like that happening. So, if you get rid of the motel then San will have nowhere to go." _

Takahashi gulped before letting out a sigh, "What...what should I do?"

_"Burn it." _the other man said coldly, _"Set the whole thing on fire."_ he laughed, _"Oh, and careful not to fuck me on this. I will find out."_ the man laughed into the phone while Takahashi stood dumbfounded unsure as to what he should do.

* * *

The teens stood just outside the motel on the main patio that overlooked the ocean. The patio area was a usual hotspot for the motel as it was where they served food and sweets. Usually it was a place that made more money than the actual overnight booking part of the motel. "What beautiful furniture," Moka complimented as she looked at the old wooden chairs and tables. They looked to be imported from the west, possibly Europe? She couldn't tell, "They're a little old, but well taken care of."

"The first floor is dining and snacks and the second is the hotel." Yukari mentioned.

Kurumu smiled and twirled in place, "The sea is right in front of us, this view is absolutely the best!"

Ruby smiled as she looked around at the teens, "Yes, I believe we'll eat lunch out here tomorrow." the news made the girls beam with joy, even Ruby couldn't contain her own excitement, "Oh, we get to eat out here with such a view of the ocean. What a luxury." she hummed.

Moka and Kurumu leaned against a railing as they looked at the waves reflecting the moonlight and splashing against the sand below. "I really admire San-senpai." Moka said after some time of silence, "Being able to support herself, working at a fantastic place like this."

"Nah," Gin interrupted, "actually there's a bunch of new stuff since we were last here." he stated with a smile. Gin leaned against the wall and continued his explanation, "You know how San doesn't speak? Well, because of that, after she graduated she had a hard time communicating with people. She wasn't able to find a place to work. But just when she seemed to give up, the Boss went ahead and picked her up." Gin thought back to when San got the job, "Yes, San was so happy she seemed like she'd cry. Since then the Boss has been sort of like a mother to San."

Yukari wiped a tear from her eye, "What a wholesome story."

"Yeah," Kurumu started, tears welling up in her eyes as well, "now that I think about it, those two really could be mother and daughter."

Mizore looked at the motel and then down to her feet, "So to San...this place is home."

The teens nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard a loud crashing sound coming from the dining area inside. "Oi! You piece of shit trash, can't you control a piece of tableware!?" Takahashi shouted. Gin frowned when he heard the man yelling. _He's yelling at San._ he thought, _Just who the hell does he think he is. To yell at somebody like that? _Takahashi knelt down and got with level with San before he forcibly grabbed her by the top of her hair, "I outta tell you not to fuck with me!" he seethed, "Ya can't even greet guests if you can't talk!" San couldn't do anything, she just sat still with tears forming in her eyes as Takahashi berated her, "If it wasn't for the Boss you wouldn't even be able to walk around and flaunt yourself! We don't need useless bitches like you!" he grabbed tighter and San had to suppress a yelp, "An' another thing. You shouldna come back. I almost had my gambling debts paid off, whatchu gonna do about that, huh?" _What the hell is this guy talking about. _Gin thought as he began to focus more on the worker.

"San-senpai! Are you alright!?" Moka asked. Takahashi quickly let go of the young adult and cursed under his breath. On his way out the door he bumped shoulders with Gin, _Damn brats..._ Takahashi thought as he walked away. While the group went to help San, Gin could only stare at Takahashi as he disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Back with Tsukune and Ben, the former was holding on to dear life as Ben swung throughout the port city. The air flew into his face and the whole time Tsukune could only laugh at how weightless he felt, "It's like I'm flying!" he yelled out. Ben smirked as he landed on one of the taller towers in the area and began running up its side until he reached the top. Ben then continued climbing until he reached the top of the spire and overlooked the city with Tsukune on his back. "Woaaaah..." Tsukune said quietly. The flashing lights of cars, different buildings and traffic lights looked almost otherworldly to the teen.

"I love spots like this." Ben mentioned, "When I'm having an off day or it's really slow I like to climb to the top of the tallest tower around and just overlook everything." he laughed, "I feel like...I can see every crime that's happening, even though I really can't."

"So...you do this often?" Tsukune asked.

"Yeah, but I'm usually overlooking a much larger city than some coastal tourist spot. Though, I gotta admit, seeing the Pacific Ocean really is different than seeing parts of the Atlantic." he chuckled, "Smells better too." both the teens laughed as they continued to look down on the city.

"Dude, if you did this with girls, I think you'd have them crawling all over you." Tsukune laughed. Ben looked behind him and smiled. He then stood up so he balanced on the spire with his left foot.

"Tally ho." Ben stated with a grin before jumping off the large building and diving straight down to the streets below. Tsukune, again, held on for dear life and screamed as they inched closer to the pavement. Then, just at the last second, Ben fired off a webline and attached it to one of the surrounding buildings allowing him to swing up and have Tsukune's back miss the concrete by half a foot.

"Too close for comfort! TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT!" Tsukune shouted as he gripped tighter to his friend. Ben could only laugh at his expense as he swung off towards the motel.

Ben made sure to land in an alleyway close to the inn as to not draw attention to him or Tsukune if somebody watched them just...fall out of the sky. Tsukune shakily got off Ben's back and balanced himself out on the flat ground, "Oh, sweet flatland." he said as he bent down bowed to the ground. As the two left the alley they walked up to the entrance of the inn and Ben's Spider Sense began blaring. He stopped at the door only for Takahashi to burst through it and collide into him.

"_Watch your step, pissant._" Ben taunted in English as he shoved the worker off him. _That was weird._ he thought, _Why the hell did my Spider Sense go off? __I mean, I suppose he ended up running into me, but that's kinda minute, right?_ Ben and Tsukune walked through the door and made their way up the stairs where they eventually found their rooms...or rather, room. "Seriously? Why do we have to share a singular room? This happened last time too and it's just...really awkward for me."

"I know what you mean." Tsukune added, "They could at least have had you, me, and Gin share a room, the girls get a room, and Ms. Nekonome could get a room." Tsukune laughed, "I didn't think monsters were so cheap."

"Maybe the school is secretly run by goblins." Ben joked causing Kokoa to give him a questioning glance.

"Goblins are often portrayed as money grubbing creatures in different facets of media." Yukari explained, "But it's really just a gross stereotype."

Ben rolled his eyes, "Yeah, tell that to the money grubbing goblin that stabbed me in the back." After getting adjusted to the singular room, and Ben putting himself off in the corner so he didn't get in the big group, the teens went to sleep.

* * *

Late in the night Ben got up and walked out to the open patio, the awkwardness of sharing a room getting to him. As he was on the patio he leaned against one of the railings and recoiled when he felt a sharp pain shoot from his rib area. He tried to clear his throat and ended up coughing in his hand, as he did so he noticed blood covering his palm. _Still? _he thought. He took a deep breath and tried to relax as he rubbed his face, "Man, I could really use a dose of Dreamqueen right now." he groaned.

"What's a 'Dreamqueen'?" Ben jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. Turning around he saw the voice belonged to Kokoa.

"Oh, Jesus." he breathed out, "You scared the hell out of me Hot Chocolate." he laughed, "So, what brings you outside? It's kinda chilly y'know?"

Kokoa squinted slightly before leaning against the railing by Ben, "I should...be asking you the same thing." Kokoa gave a questioning glance to the vigilante before she repeated herself, "So...what's a 'Dreamqueen'?" she asked using finger quotes.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Heard that part, did you?" he chuckled, "Life is...hard, kid." Ben said as he swallowed a lump in his throat, "You probably don't care, and I think that'll work in my benefit because it'll feel like I can finally get this off my chest; but my brother passed away last year. At least, as far as I know." Kokoa stood silent and allowed for Ben to continue, "When he was gone I decided to take over for him and I feel...heavy. Like, it's as if this fuckin' suit is cursed. I feel as if I'm supporting the weight of the world on my shoulders.

"You know, like...you ever get the feeling that people have these overly high expectations for you? And it just feels like, no matter how hard you try or how much you do, you can never please them? Or maybe, you do please them, but you have so little self confidence that you doubt yourself? Do you know what I mean?" Kokoa looked down, she did know what he meant, perhaps better than he realized. She always felt inadequate when compared to any of her sisters.

"And that's not all, but aside from general hero stuff and the constant fear on whether or not I'm gonna get killed when I go out, I also get no respect when trying to be a comic book artist because I'm not already in the industry...among other things." Ben said as he shifted his eyes slightly, "And I can't live off commissions, that won't pay the bills. But with me in school I can't exactly have a decent part time job. But that means I don't know how well Aunt May is doing without me there to help, I mean, Kaine is there but that means now he just has to make up for me being gone and I don't like being a burden to either of them." Ben chuckled, but Kokoa could see he was struggling to keep his composure.

"But to top it all off...I still haven't gotten over my brother's death. I thought that if I had taken over for him I'd feel better, but all it does is just remind me that I'm a clone. I thought I had gotten over this last year, that I had become my own person. Buuuut NOOOOOO, instead I did the exact opposite of what I preached and ended up just being like him anyways. The only thing different about me is that maybe I'm a little more lenient on some issues and more conservative on others." Ben let out a long sigh as he looked down over the railing.

"But...what's a 'Dreamqueen'?" Kokoa asked again, slightly annoyed.

Ben gave a slight smirk, "Dreamqueen is a 'who' not a 'what'. She's a succubus." he said bluntly, "Due to certain circumstances that occured last year I became acquainted with her. And now, due to an agreement we have, she gives me good dreams in exchange for some of my vitality." Ben saw the slightly disgusted expression on Kokoa's face and quickly corrected himself, "NOT IN THAT WAY!" he corrected, "She just gives me dreams that will give me some serotonin so I can...not feel depressed. The whole idea was that I didn't want to be dependent on anti-depressants because I kinda...went through some issues." he let out a shaky breath, anxious on what Kokoa thought of him after what he said, "So, yeah...life is hard, kid. And in my case it never feels like it'll get easier."

"I'm sorry..." Kokoa said softly, "I'm sorry if I'm a burden to you."

Ben gave Kokoa a smirk and brought her in for a hug, "Nah, Coco...You're no burden. You're a bright beacon in this dark world." Kokoa could only blush at the compliment before she pushed away from Ben.

"Let go of me, you...you!" without thinking of anything Kokoa began to walk back inside, "Hey, don't stay up all night. You still have to sleep too." Kokoa wouldn't admit it, but Ben was certain he saw her smile.

**To be continued...**

**A/N: Alrighty ladies and gents, here's the next chapter of our story. A little laid back, I know, but it's really just setting things up as well as expanding relationships with some of the characters. Next chapter should be a long chapter, for the most part, so it may take some time...Also I think I'm gonna start the finale to my Spider-Man/Deadpool series, so don't be surprised if that gets posted first.**

**Um...I kinda want to get something off my chest. I know we're usually making jokes around here, but, look, this time of year is really important to me because my Grandpa's birthday is in early August. He passed away from cancer in March 2010. When I was growing up I didn't really have a father. My real father left shortly after I was born and my stepdad of the time was a fucking alcoholic turned coke addict. My grandpa was like a father to me up until his death and I wish every day that I cherished my time with him more. Things are a little better now because my mom's second husband, my stepfather is a pretty great guy. But this time of year us still hard.**

**I brought this up because despite of how sad things may be, I'm glad I could make you guys laugh, smile or cry along with me. Not just you guys, but fans from all my stories, I really appreciate those of you who have stuck around for so long, and I love seeing new faces show up. Sharing my stupid stories with you guys and you all actually enjoying it is such a good feeling. Even if it was just one of you I'd be happy, but there's like what, 50 of you? Ballpark area around there? That's awesome! ****That doesn't even count the other story. So, thank you. Thank you to all of you that stuck around and few of you who joined more recently.**

**I hope you all have a wonderful day. Remember to favorite, follow, and review, and have a fantastic day.**

**P.S. Listen to that new Logic album "No Pressure" shit's fantastic.**


	17. The Voice of an Angel (part 1)

**The Voice of an Angel**

* * *

The very next morning the teens were practically forced awake by the sound of police sirens just outside their window. Ben parted the blinds slightly to see officers speaking to Kawamoto about something. Ben may not have been able to hear what was being said, but he could see it in her body language. Kawamoto was distressed. Something happened and Ben, as well as the others, wanted to find out what. Quickly throwing on a t-shirt Ben rushed down the stairs with the other teens who were still in their pajamas. "What happened?" Kurumu asked San with a yawn. San bit her lip and shuffled nervously in place before lifting up her notepad.

"We were robbed last night." Yukari translated for Ben. San adorned a sad expression. Ben folded his arms and clenched his teeth while he was in deep thought. _But how?_ He thought, _If the Hostel was broken into I would have been able to sense..._ his eyes widened in realization. _That guy!_ Ben thought back to how he and Tsukune ran into Takahashi and how he looked stressed out. _That's why my Spider Sense activated! _Ben let out a loud groan as he tried to hold in his anger, _And I let him get away._

"_Fuck._" Ben muttered.

Kokoa cocked an eyebrow as Ben began walking back into the building, "Where the hell are you going?" she asked, causing the teens to look at Ben as he opened the door.

"I'm gonna go fucking hang myself." Ben replied with a groan as he walked back into the building. Tsukune was the first to react as he quickly rushed inside to Ben his eyes widened in fear as he remembered what happened the year before.

"BEN!" Tsukune shouted as he ran through the hall to his friend before tackling him to the ground, "Ben listen to me, I know you're in there! Come to my voice!"

Ben gave a confused expression as he pushed Tsukune off him, "What the hell are you talking about?" Ben looked around the first floor to make sure nobody was listening to them, "Okay, I know what I said sounded bad...But I'm not actually going to, I'm just going back to the room to sulk." Ben rubbed the back of his head nervously, "My bad, it's more of a general expression these days. I guess I didn't really think of the implications."

Tsukune let out a huge breath of relief, "Jesus Ben, you scared the hell out of me. Wait..." Tsukune looked up to his friend, "What would make you think about that anyways?"

Ben frowned as he brought Tsukune closer, "Remember last night? When we came back late and we saw Takahashi busting out the doors like he had somewhere to be?" Tsukune nodded. Ben sighed and slammed his head against the wall, "It was him. He was the guy that robbed the Hostel." Ben slammed his hand against the wall and turned around to face his friend, "I could've stopped him then and there, but I didn't. I let him get away."

"Oh Ben," the two teens jumped slightly at the new voice and turned to see Kurumu as well as the others had followed after them, "There's no way you could have known it was him." San nodded in response and the other girls agreed too. Kurumu walked up to Ben and placed her hand on his face and smiled, "So don't go blaming yourself for something like this. This wasn't your fault, it was that Takahashi jackass." she assured. Ben, begrudgingly nodded, he felt as if he could have still done something, but Kurumu had a point as well. Kurumu then reeled back her hand before landing a monstrous slap across Ben's face.

"OH!" the teens all yelled in unison.

"OW!" Ben shouted as he held his face in pain, a red mark left from where Kurumu hit him, "What was that for!?"

"That was for scaring us half to death!" Kurumu stated as she got up in Ben's face and pointed at him, "You can't just go around saying things like that, Ben! It's serious, especially considering what happened last year!"

"Wait, what happened last year?" Kokoa asked.

"I swan dived off the roof of the school and ate a concrete sandwich." Ben said with a slight shrug and a hint of snark in his voice.

"I'm serious Ben!" Kurumu began pounding against his chest with her fists, "This isn't something you joke about." her expression changed to one of sadness.

"Okay." Ben said calmly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you guys."

San held up her notepad, "Thank you for your concern. Please help the investigation in any way possible." Yukari translated. Ben nodded and San gave a sweet, teary eyed smile. After some time the teens all gave their accounts of the night prior and both Ben and Tsukune talked about how they ran into Takahashi and how he seemed to be acting awfully skiddish. The police thanked everyone for their cooperation and went on their way. _Son of a bitch. _Ben thought.

* * *

The teens, minus Gin, had met up back in their room. "Here's a rumor," Yukari began after the teens all met up. Kokoa, Ruby, Mizore and Kurumu all looked at their swimsuits that they felt they wouldn't use while Ben hung upside down and Tsukune leaned against the wall. "Apparently it's been spreading that this place may shut down." Yukari frowned. "It...gets worse. I guess, from what I picked up from other employees, the Boss here opened this Hostel up with her husband nearly a decade ago. Her husband died a couple years ago leaving the boss to manage everything on her own. Because of that there has been managing deficits. There is no reason to continue if there aren't any profits coming in."

Ben gripped his chin with his thumb and index finger as his body spun slightly as the web rotated. _Damn, to think that letting that clown get away would be the literal tipping point for the Hostel._ He sighed and folded his arms, a sad expression adorned on his face, "_Damn Parker Luck. It seems to follow me more now after his death._" Ben groaned in English.

"What the hell is _Parker Luck_?" Kokoa asked Ben, surprisingly understanding what he said.

"Wait..." Ben cocked an eyebrow in astonishment, "_You can understand English!?_"

Kokoa gave a haughty laugh before placing her hand to her chest, an aura of smugness emanating from her so strong it was almost palpable, "_Of course I can speak and understand English!_" she said excitedly, "_After all, I am a high class vampire not some peon!_"

Ben gave a questioning glance before gaining an embarrassed expression, "_Um...sorry for like...all the times I said something inappropriate. __I didn't think you'd understand_." Ben apologized thinking about all the...less than favorable phrases he may have said in front of Kokoa as they trained.

Tsukune gasped slightly after finally taking in everything Yukari had told them, "Wait, but if the Hostel closes down, where with San-senpai go?" the teens all looked at each other with worried expressions as they peered around the corner to see San cleaning the windows alone. Tsukune could even see her wipe tears from her eyes. "After she found such a nice boss she'll be forced to leave her."

Moka nodded as she seemed to come to another point of understanding, "I'm sure it's even more difficult than we imagine." she sighed, "For someone like us, monsters, living in the human world is...well." she bit her lip trying to think how to word her thoughts, "Like, Tsukune and Ben are human. So it's reasonable they will return to the human world after graduation. Hell, if anybody knows what they'll be doing the most it's Ben. But what about people like us? What should we do? Will we all be able to find something that we are good at doing...or will we be forced to split up too?"

Kurumu thought about Moka's words as she continued to watch San clean the mirrors with a sad expression. Kurumu then huffed and marched out to San and grabbed a towel herself, "Here Senpai, let me help too." she said with a sweet smile.

"Kurumu, what are you doing?" Yukari asked as she and the other teens followed her.

"I won't let us be split up." Kurumu said confidently as she wiped down the windows, "Whether it's in the human world or anywhere else, I won't let us be split from Tsukune. San-senpai here is hope that we can all get along and do well in the human world. She's our hope. So I want to make sure she's happy again." San stared at Kurumu with wide eyes as did the other teens.

Mizore, now following Kurumu's lead and grabbing a towel herself, began cleaning the windows as well. "Although, what will you do? If the Hostel closes then you can't do anything." she mentioned.

"The problem is lack of funds." Yukari stated as she and Ruby began scrubbing the ground while on their hands and knees. Soon everyone was cleaning, even Kokoa who just dusted away cobwebs from corners. "If we earn enough management funds, then it looks like an emergency situation could be avoided." Yukari groaned at the physical labor they were doing, "However, were it that easy then the Boss would never have been in trouble in the first place." After a few hours of cleaning the group took notice of how clean things were becoming.

Kokoa groaned and held her stomach, "You know, I'm fine with cleaning and all that, but can't we eat lunch on the terrace first or something? I'm starving over here!" the other teens sighed at the young vampire, disappointed that she couldn't read the atmosphere. _I don't know, I kinda understand what Kokoa means though. We need some food to keep going._ Ben thought with a nod.

It was at that moment Moka began chuckling to herself as she thought more and more about what Kokoa said. "Um...Moka?" Kurumu asked with a concerned expression, "Are you okay there?"

"That's a good idea, Kokoa." Moka smiled, "Guys, shouldn't we use the weapons we have to solve this problem? We have a way to bring money back to this inn!"

* * *

Downstairs, Kawamoto sat in her private office sulking while holding onto a photo of her late husband. She was already coming close to a breaking point over the last couple of years as she slowly lost more and more money. Already she was six beer cans deep as she opened her seventh and cried over her husband's photo. "I'm sorry Yuu. It looks as if the Hostel is finally finished." she sniffed, "I just don't have the drive anymore. Not since you died. I've been...drinking, nonstop since lunch just spending more money I don't have. I thought I changed when San came...she was like the daughter you and I wanted." she sighed, "But in the end...it's no good, I'm just a..." Kawamoto couldn't finish her thoughts as she heard lots of commotion from outside.

Opening her door she saw a large abundance of people talking as well the hum of music playing. _What's going on?_ she thought. Looking down more Kawamoto saw her few staff members struggling to serve and assist the abundance of customers. "BOSS!" one of the boys called out who was trying to make an ice cream cone as well as cook something in a pan, "Thank goodness, we need your help, we don't have the manpower!"

"What the hell is going on?" Kawamoto asked, "Why is there so many customers? Also, work the snack bar? I haven't had to do this in ages."

The boy laughed slightly, "Well, it's all thanks to San's friends. They're calling customers over for us to serve."

"Calling?" Kawamoto asked with a cocked eyebrow.

The teens in question were all bunched together in a group. From left to right: Kurumu stood with her arms out wide in a yellow two-piece bathing suit. Behind Kurumu stood Ruby with one arm in the air, she was wearing a thin black V bathing suit that was held together with just a little bit of string, leaving very little to the imagination. Next to Ruby was Kokoa and Ben who's noses were bleeding and eyes were practically popping out of their heads at the sight of Ruby's bathing suit. Kokoa wore a white bathing suit with frills and a skirt bottom. Ben wore American Flag printed board shorts and, thanks to Kurumu helping him, used some make-up to hide his more prominent looking scars--mostly the ones of the bullet variety. Next to Ben was Tsukune who wore navy blue board shorts and held up a large sign that promoted the bar connected to the Hostel. Just in front of Tsukune was Mizore in a more reserved stance, she wore a light purple and white striped bikini. Next to Mizore was Yukari with her arms out in a similar fashion to Kurumu's, who also wore a white frilly bathing suit. Finally at the end was Moka who was practically jumping in the air, she wore a ruby red bikini. "How about having something tasty to eat at our shop!?!" the girls (minus Kokoa) shouted out.

"There's a terrace with a beautiful view of the ocean in our shop~" Kurumu sang out and she bent slightly giving some boys a solid view of her cleavage.

"Please come and try!" Moka finished, accentuating her butt outwards.

And like magic it was as if herds of men came flocking to the bar cheering over the girls, "Yes! YES! We'll come, we'll come wherever!" they shouted out. "What's with all these girls? They are mega cute, like this one," one of the pointed to Moka, "I don't think I've seen a girl with such long hair before!" the men began ogling each girl, "This girl has huge tits too! Even with her tight top they shake so much!" another said, speaking about Kurumu. "But this one has skin so white it's like she's see-through!" another said about Mizore, "String...her bathing suit is string!" it seems the boys had a similar expression to Ruby's bathing suit that Ben and Kokoa had.

As the men moved towards Kokoa and Yukari they saw Ben protecting them and cringed, "Careful, I think there's a lolicon over there." one whispered.

"What the fuck?" Ben held himself back from punching the man in the face, _I'M NOT A FUCKING LOLICON! _

Kokoa cringed at the sight of the boys flocking to the older teens, "_Ugh, does your culture have a name for gross perverts obsessing over women they'll never get?_" she asked Ben.

Ben rubbed his chin in thought, "_I'm pretty sure the current slang for 'Person obsessing over someone they'll never sleep with' is called a 'Simp__'._" Ben explained causing Kokoa to snicker.

"_Oh, so you mean like you to my sister?_" she laughed.

Ben shook his head and smiled, "_Fuck you. I'm making our next training session a grueling one._"

"_Do it, pussy. I bet you won't!_"

"_You have got a mouth on you when you want to, huh?_"

Kokoa leaned against Ben's chest and gave a toothy smile, "_I learned it from training with you!_"

Kawamoto could only stare in disbelief almost feeling as if everything that was going on was some sort of drunk dream she was having. Before she started to break down from her disbelief she felt her hand vet gripped. Looking down Kawamoto saw San had grabbed her hand and smiled by her side. Thinking back to the past year and how happy she had been with San around. "That's right...I had forgotten our promise that we made a year ago." Kawamoto let a few tears slide down her face, "You and I would turn this into the number one seaside inn."

As the others seemed to be having fun, Ms. Nekonome fishing in the sea with the Bus Driver, Kurumu happily serving drinks, and Ben keeping weirdos away from Kokoa and Yukari, Moka approached Tsukune. "Tsukune, will you promise me something?" Moka asked. Tsukune turned to her with a concerned expression, "Will you promise me that we'll live with our strength combine? So that if we separate after graduating if anyone has any trouble, then everyone will come together like this to help. Then we can whether it together, and always now and into the future."

* * *

**Elsewhere...**

Takahashi had been running all night hoping to ditch town with the money he had stolen out of the register, but he couldn't even make it to the train station before he encountered someone who was tailing him. The man was tall, had medium length messy blond hair and sharp teeth. He had menacing looking eyes as well as a sharp pointed chin. The man wore some sort of high grade headphones as well as a mesh tank top, black jeans and black boots. "Tell me," the man started, "What's the reason why you didn't burn down the inn like I ordered you too?" the man scoffed and gave a sinister smile, "This is why I hate working with humans. Yeah...you can just die now."

Takahashi's eyes widened in fear as he recognized the voice, "Wait...you're that Fairy Tale guy that was in the phone! What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me!?" Takahashi nearly pissed his pants as the man from Fairy Tale's hand reached closer.

"So, you're the one who's behind this." the man stopped at the sound of the new voice, "I've been waiting for you you know? Even followed this douche all night." turning around both Takahashi and the man from Fairy Tale turned around to see Gin leaning against the fence. Gin got off the fence and stretched out his back, "A little word of advice before you kick the crap out of him, stay away from San Otonashi, otherwise you'll regret it."

The man laughed, "'Regret?'" he echoed, "That's funny. Just who the hell are you?"

Gin smiled, "I'm just an ally of justice."

Again the man laughed, "Man, I like you. I mean, you look super strong. Plus you've got guts, and a good looking face." Gin cocked an eyebrow as the man complimented him.

"Uh...Thanks?" Gin replied.

The man held his hand out for Gin to shake and he did so, "I'm Tsubaki Rokurou, sorry for not saying that earlier. And you?"

"Um...Ginei Morioka."

Tsubaki smiled and nodded his head, "Yes. Yes. Then I'm asking you, Ginei, become one of our group! Become a member of Fairy Tale!" Tsubaki said happily causing Gin to just look at him in surprise, "Fairytale is an organization planning from the shadows to overthrow human society, the enemy to monster kind. In order to achieve our goal we need more outstanding members, even if it's just one person." he explained, "I'm like an organization scout of sorts. If you join I'm sure you'll be given VIP access. So...how 'bout it?"

Gin chuckled at the proposition, "So that's why you tried kidnapping San? To win her over to your side?"

Tsubaki gave a sharp toothed smile and nodded, "That's right. So now you see why we tried using humans at first. I apologize for my previously rough manner. So, do you think you'll be joining along with San?" he asked.

"Are you an idiot?" Gin asked with a deadpanned expression, his accent really starting to come out, "You'll send me to sleep with your bullshit. I don't reckon I'm an enemy of any humans, fact I have a pretty good relationship with at least a few of them. 'Sides, why would I get in bed with a bunch of punks that tried to hurt San-senpai?" Gin began to crack his knuckles, fully expecting a fight.

Tsubaki, again gave a toothy smile, only this time it was less friendly and more along the lines of being sinister. "Is that right?" he asked as he began to reach to his back pocket, "I wonder if you'll be able to say the same after hearing the voice of this individual." Gin cocked an eyebrow in surprise at what Tsubaki had grabbed from his back pocket, _A headphone speaker?_ he thought. Looking at the speaker, Gin could see some sort of aux cord connected to it that went down and connected to a Walkman. "The owner of that power is called 'God' in our organization." Tsubaki said proudly as he held the speaker over his head, "The words of God are commands to those who listen to them. Those who listen to his singing voice, his 'Melody of Death' have their soul stolen! And that voice has been recorded." he laughed, "Don't worry, I'll let you hear it too."

Before Gin knew it a loud sound emanated from the speaker. But it was more than just a loud sound, it was some sort of special frequency. The sound seemed to pound through his skull like it was trying to destroy his head. While Gin was fairing well and seemed to only have a minor headache for the time being, Takahashi couldn't stand it. He coughed out blood and blood began to drip from his eyes as they became bloodshot. "GUAGH!" Takahashi shouted, "MY HEAD! IT'S IN MY HEAD! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!"

Gin held his head in pain, his vision was getting blurry and everything became dark. _What is this?_ he thought as he held his head in pain, _Can't see, everything in front of my eyes have gone pitch black! Damn, this is bad. There's this pain...as if it's going to my brain, this'll be a problem if I don't stop that song. _"Heh, still resisting?" Gin's eyes widened when he heard the voice of Tsubaki. He looked all around him, but couldn't see a thing. His scent was nowhere to be found either. The music was messing with all his senses in some way. "I suppose the effects of this small speaker are just too weak." Tsubaki sighed, "But, oh well, a weakened you isn't my enemy." and as if all his senses came back at once, Gin suddenly felt a powerful right hook knock against his jaw. _Woah...what viciousness. _Tsubaki stood tall over the werewolf in disguise and laughed, "Sleep tight, Ginei Morioka."

* * *

Back at the inn, the girls, Tsukune and Ben had decided to close up shop as they had run out of food to serve. Kawamoto was both surprised and elated. Since there were no more customers she went ahead and sent her other workers home for the day. "CHEERS!" the teens cheered as they clinked their glasses of soda and tea together, all except Kokoa who tried to be a wall flower and be on her own. Much to Kokoa's dismay, Ben wasn't one to leave her alone. "C'mon, Kokoa. Try to have a little fun." Ben said as he wrapped his arm around the young vampire. Kokoa tried to act as if she was looking into her cup, but in reality she was looking at the scars that littered Ben's body.

Ben then looked over to the girl's and had to use all his willpower not to lose his mind over how great they looked in swimsuits. "Thank goodness." Kurumu exclaimed as she bent over slightly, exposing a great deal of cleavage before stretching her arms upward, "I'd say it was a great success at the snackbar."

Mizore took a drink of her tea before wiping the cool condensation from the glass on her forehead, "Ah, who would've thought we'd use all the food in the neighboring supermarkets in only a few hours."

"It's because we all made an effort to call people over in our bathing suits!" Moka chuckled as she fixed her bottoms so it wasn't giving her a wedgie, "Which reminds me...BEN, QUIT STARING AT MY ASS!" she yelled out with a red face.

Ben perked up not even realizing he had been staring for so long, "That's...it's just...I...um..." Ben sighed and looked down, his face becoming extremely red from embarrassment, "I'm sorry."

"_Pull yourself together._" Kokoa criticized in English.

"That aside," Kurumu said, waving her hand back and forth as if to move past the previous conversation, "the true question remains. Tsukune, who's swimsuit do you like more?"

Tsukune's face turned red and he was dumbstruck by the question, "Uh...who looks best?" he asked as he looked at the girls, "How can I pick, you all look really good." he chuckled nervously, "I mean, Moka's leather fabric feels nice. Kurumu has pretty lace, Mizore has stripes that accentuate her body. Uh...Yukari and Kokoa's bathing suits suit them well. And Ruby..." he stared at Ruby for some time, trying to think of a way to complimented her suit that didn't lead to the obvious...but he couldn't, "So as you can see, everybody looks lovely!"

"Ah, he ignored me." Ruby mumbled with an upset face.

"_No, he didn't want to admit yours was see-through._" Kokoa and Ben said in unison. "Well, if my opinion matters at all (probably doesn't) I think Moka has the better swimsuit." Ben pointed out.

"BIAS!" Yukari yelled, "You're only thinking of her Other in that suit!"

"Not at all!" Ben defended. The girls gave him a look that said they weren't convinced, so Ben explained, "Her swimsuit is Scarlet Red." the girls, again, looked confused.

**_Why would that matter?_** Inner Moka asked.

"You guys have to be fucking kidding me. Scarlet Red is my favorite color." the girls, once again, looked confused, "How could none of you figure that out? I used to be called 'The Scarlet Spider'."

"_Lame name compared to Spider-Man._" Kokoa mumbled.

"Wow Ben, you were right," Mizore started as she took her lollipop out of her mouth, "You opinion doesn't matter." Ben could only let out a loud audible groan in response.

"Ahahaha, thank you everyone." Kawamoto called out, 'Thanks to you and you're bathing suits we were able to attract lots of customers today. Even you, American, thank you, you brought in a lot of women my age. Which is pretty surprising if I'm being honest."

"_Pfft. Here that, Reilly? Sounds like you're a MILF Magnet._" Kokoa laughed.

"_Hey, I'll take it.__ At least somebody out there loves me._" Ben chuckled.

Kawamoto smiled, as did San, "But seriously, thank you. All of you. Because of you teens we'll be able to keep our doors open for at least a little bit longer."

"Please don't say 'a little bit longer.'" Tsukune pleaded.

"YEAH!" Moka cheered, "If things get hard, please don't hesitate to ask for our help again."

Kawamoto gave a sweet smile, "Yeah, that's right. I have to try my hardest for both San and kate husband." suddenly there was a ringing heard, "Oh, it must be a leftover customer. You kids go ahead and stay here. I'll handle it, go ahead and stay back, San." Kawamoto walked through the building and began thinking about her husband. The times they had together and his...untimely death. Memories were getting hazy, and perhaps it was due to the trauma of losing her husband, but she remembers him lying on the floor, bleeding. When she found him...there was a creature that stood over him, like an angel but it was eating him. An angel wouldn't kill, would it? The door bell rang again and Kawamoto snapped out of her stupor. She rubbed the tears off her eyes and got ready to open the door, "Relax, Marin." she told herself.

"Welcome, are you staying the night?" Kawamoto asked as the man walked through the door. The man had long almost platinum blond hair, green eyes and fair skin. He wore a bellamy shirt and black dress pants, as well as black dress shoes. He looked like a Victorian era musician.

"Oh no," the man replied, "I'm not here to stay." Kawamoto looked at the man and backed up in fear, as if she recognized him, "I'm sorry, but is a young lady by the name of San here?" the man asked, causing Kawamoto to recoil in shock, "Do not fear, we are from Fairy Tail."

* * *

"What!?" the students cried out over what San told them, "Her husband was killed by a monster?" Tsukune asked, completely surprised. Then realization dawned on him again, "Wait, does that mean Ms. Marin knows of the existence of monsters?" San nodded.

"No way!" Moka cried out, "That means we monsters are like some sort of enemy to Ms. Marin's late husband."

San frowned and held up her notepad, "That's right, if I am found out to be a monster then I'll also be forced to leave Ms. Marin. That is why I ask you to not let her find out my identity." Yukari had gone ahead and translated for Ben so he wasn't left behind. _What a mess. _Ben thought as he cupped his chin. Ben looked up to see Moka grip her head in pain and he did the same, _SPIDER SENSE!_ Ben looked around, but couldn't see the enemy. Thinking quickly he grabbed his bag that he brought with him and began to change behind a counter top.

"That's awful!" Kurumu cried out, "I mean, San and Ms. Marin are close enough to practically be mother and daughter."

"Ohoh, it seems I've heard something interesting." the teens gasped at the sight of a man holding Kawamoto in his arms as if she was unconscious, "Which means to get you to discard the human world, I just have to get rid of this woman?" the man asked. The teens gasped as they turned to see the man, even Ben, now in Spider-Man garb was crouched above the snack bar. "Excuse me, where are my manners, I am the section chief of Fairy Tail's 7th branch, Kamiya "God" Kanade." _Fairy Tail._ Ben growled mentally as he balled up his hand into a fist. "I've come to welcome San Otonashi."

"No way!" Ben shouted as he dropped below, "We aren't going to let terrorists like you make demands. If you want San, then you'll have to pry her from my cold dead hands!" Ben put his arm in front of San and pushed her back behind him causing her to gasp slightly in surprise. The other teens, seeing the bravery of their friend, were quick to gain an aggressive stance too.

Kamiya sighed and dropped Kawamoto as he pulled some sort of harp from his belt, "What's with you people? You're so rude. I'm in the middle of a talk you know." A bright light began to shine on Kamiya and Ben could feel his Spider Sense blaring. "Kids with no sense of courtesy, deserve a certain death!" Kamiya opened his mouth and some sort of song began to come from him. Ben felt his body getting weak as the song continued, his vision blurred and legs began to tremble, hell he started feel sick in the stomach. _What is this?_ he thought, _What can I do against this?_

* * *

A few rooftops away, a man lied still with binoculars in hand watching the situation unfold before his eyes, "Son of a bitch." he muttered, "Can't exactly collect the bounty if someone else does the work for me. But..." he looked through the binoculars again at Kamiya and chuckled, "Hold on." Scrolling through a list of photos in a group marked 'Fairy Tail' the man was able to scroll down and find a picture that matched the man's face, "Thought so. SHIELD would pay a pretty penny for this." clicking his tongue a few times the man nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm going Monster Hunting."

* * *

**Intermission: Hey guys, it's the Nerd. I was gonna make this one long chapter, but it started getting a little longer than anticipated. Like, I still have all the Gin stuff to get through and what not, plus some...unfortunate surprises. So I'm gonna go ahead and split it into two parts. Don't worry, you shouldn't have to wait that long for the next part it's literally 3/4 done. Okay, well until then I'll leave you with this cliff hanger. Catch you later.**

**OH! REAL QUICK REVIEW:**

**Bill and Ted 3: Love it. Like, it's exactly what I expected. Funny, goofy, ridiculous. There are some jokes that definitely miss. But overall it's pretty good and exactly what I expected from the series. There is maybe one thing that people would hate about it, but I don't think it detracts too much from established canon.**

**Okay, that's it. See you later guys.**


	18. The Voice of an Angel (Part 2)

**Voice of an Angel (Part 2)**

* * *

"Everyone, be careful!" Yukari called out as she and many of the other teens, struggled to stand up, "This ability and that form...We're dealing with a Siren!" Looking at Kamiya's transformed state, he looked the same except for the fact he had sprouted wings like an angel.

"My body...feels so numb." Mizore complained as she and Kurumu struggled to get to their feet. The only one of the teens on their feet was Ben, and he was dealing with other issues. _Dammit, I can't see a damn thing! _Focusing on the direction of where the music was coming from, Ben blindly shot a web ball. He missed, but it was close enough to distract Kamiya and have him stop singing.

"That form..." Kawamoto started as she slowly got up thanks to Ben stopping the song. She picked up a neck to a table that had the top missing and began walking towards the monster, "You are...the one who killed my husband in this inn. Four years ago." she huffed.

"Ms. Marin!" Moka called out, "Don't do it, he's too powerful."

"So...he killed the man." Ben said as he clenched his fists.

Kamiya scratched his head to think, "Four years ago? OH!" he laughed, "That would have been exactly the time I was dispatched to this branch. I was pretty pissed about it back then, see. I didn't like coming to this hell hole, it stinks of fish. That's why I just went around killing humans." he smiled before turning to Kawamoto with a maniacal looking expression, "I was just clearing my gloom. So why would I bother to remember each and every one I killed!?"

Kawamoto had tears dripping off her face as she gained an angered expression. She cocked back the neck of the table and charged the siren, "WHY YOUUU!!!" Ben knew something bad was going to happen and lifted his arm to stop Kawamoto, but San beat him to it, tackling the woman to the ground. "SAN! LET GO!" Kawamoto cried, "That guy...that guy..." looking down Kawamoto saw San bawling her eyes out as she wrapped her arms tightly around her boss. "Why? Why does someone like this guy exist? It looked like I was going to forget, but thanks to San I was able to remember what it was like to have a family again. It looked like I could treat all of that as a bad dream, but why did he return?" Kawamoto clenched her teeth and gripped San close to her, "Disappear you monster! Don't you ever have anything to do with the human world again!" That word. 'Monster.' It rang out across the teens like a bullet. San seemed to be the one most effected, as if the person she looked up to the most wouldn't want to see her again. Kamiya began laughing at the exchange, causing Kawamoto to squint her eyes in anger, "What are you laughing at!?"

"Ahaha! Did you hear that, San?" Kamiya asked, "The human really doesn't know anything. Okay, human, I'll let you in on a little secret, so listen well." Kamiya cleared his throat before laughing again, "San is also a monster you fool! She's the same as I! What 'family?' What 'human'? You were being tricked! You were manipulated, moron!"

"YEAH RIGHT!" Marin dashed forward again.

Kamiya smirked as he began to open his mouth to start his song again, "Shit, MS. MARIN!" Tsukune yelled out. As Kamiya sent out his song it was blocked by something equally as powerful. The teens' eyes widened in surprise, and so did Kawamoto as they saw it was San's own singing blocking the attack. "No way...she's...just like him." Tsukune said and Moka nodded.

_NOW__! THAT'S AN OPENING! _Ben thought as he shot a webline forward and zipped to Kamiya, punching him across the face. San gasped as she saw Ben leap into action and nodded. Knowing what must be done she gave Kawamoto her notebook, "Marin...I'm sorry." she said softly." Kawamoto's eyes widened in surprise at hearing San talk for the first time.

"You ingrate!" Kamiya shouted, "You think you, a mere human, can defeat me? Compared to you, I am a GOD!"

Ben scoffed, "Yeah, well, I don't believe in false deities. You're no god, you aren't even an angel. You're just a pathetic excuse of a creature who preys on the weak. You are nothing but scum. And just an FYI, I don't 'THINK' I can beat you. I 'KNOW' I can beat you." Ben taunted. It was a bluff, sure, he actually didn't think he stood a chance against that siren's song, but it was worth a try to get the monster to make a mistake. Kamiya growled in annoyance and got ready for another attack, but instead cried out in pain when he felt a bullet hit his leg.

Ben's lenses widened in surprise and he looked around to see who it could have belonged to. "Hey there, Slick." Ben once again heard an all too familiar voice as a man in a white cloak dropped and landed right next to him. The man, was Taskmaster. "I see you've gotten yourself in a bit of a situation."

Tsukune growled in annoyance at the sight of the mercenary, "What the hell are you doing here? Haven't you done enough to us!?"

"Relax, Jabroni. I just happened to show up at the right time is all." the teens stared at Taskmaster with expressions that showed they didn't believe him, "No? Okay, truth is I followed you kids as soon as I was able. I figured if I staked you out Spider-Man would pop up eventually. AND HE DID! Just...also with this guy. Weighing my odds I figured it was best I got the bounty on this monster." Taskmaster pointed to Kamiya, "After all, SHIELD is willing to do almost anything for Fairy Tail information."

"So you figured since I'm fighting him you'd have less trouble." Ben mentioned.

"Exactly, kid. What do you say? It's a win-win situation. We both take down the monster, you protect the girl and I get paid. So...do we have a deal?" Taskmaster held out his hand to shake and Ben hesitated for a few moments. "Burning daylight, Slick, it's now or never." as Taskmaster said that Kamiya began his attack but again was blocked by San, who's voice was almost angelic.

"Fine, but no killing." Ben commanded.

"Deal." Both Ben and Taskmaster shook hands and from that moment Ben let out a breath of relief that he wouldn't have to fight the mercenary for once.

* * *

While Ben and Taskmaster were deciding their terms, Tsukune was standing defiantly against Kamiya who had told Kawamoto that he did not eat her husband like she thought, but instead he did it for fun. 'For Play' were his exact words. "Why...Why is it people like you exist? All San-senpai wants is to live together with Ms. Marin." Tsukune gritted his teeth, "We are hoping for monsters and humans to live in harmony! So why are there people like you who only want to inflict harm on us, on San!?" he yelled.

"HARMONY!?" Kamiya laughed, "What a disgusting thing. The aim of Fairy Tail is the overthrow of the human world." he said with a completely deadpan expression.

Tsukune growled and charged forward just as Ben and Taskmaster shook hands, "DON'T SCREW WITH ME! LIKE HELL I'D LET THAT HAPPEN!" before Tsukune could get too close to Kamiya he felt a powerful force of pressure against his face that sent him flying in the snack shack.

"I can still attack you, even if San cancels out my attacks. I just need to change my tune." Playing a melody on his harp, Kamiya turned the ground into a shallow puddle of water. From the water creatures began to emerge, "I can still call upon other 'members.' Space Transfer Technique: WATER MIRROR!"

"Did this dude just shout out his attack like it was a jutsu?" Ben asked with a cocked lens. Ben's Spider Sense blared and both he and Taskmaster jumped backwards to see the ugly beasts that came out of the water. They were Mermen, large half man half fish creatures with fish heads. They also have scaly limps and webbed feet. "_Oh great, Sea Men._" Ben groaned in English.

"_Wha-? No, they're called Mermen._" Taskmaster replied.

"_Nah, I'm pretty sure they're Sea Men. Hey, hey Tasky...what is it called when a group of Sea Men dog pile you?_" Taskmaster turned to Ben, though his mask couldn't show emotion it was pretty obvious he wanted Ben to shut up, "_Pfft...it's called a Bukake._" Ben laughed.

"_Oh shut the hell up!_" Kokoa replied with a groan.

Taskmaster cracked his knuckles and pulled out his shield, "I suppose this is where the fun begins?" he asked.

The teens began transforming into their true selves and Ben jumped up and down in anticipation and cracked his neck, "Oh yeah, queue the music."

**Music Queue: Flamingo--Token**

Unamused, Kamiya sent two Mermen forward. One went after Ben, the other after Taskmaster. "Yeah, right." Taskmaster taunted as he and Ben got in a similar fighting stance and nodded to each other. As the creatures got close enough Ben and Taskmaster crossed each other and attacked the creatures opposite of them. Taskmaster then threw his shield down to the ground to have it bounce up and hit the merman in the chin like he was Captain America. As the shield went airborne, Ben jumped to grab it before zipping downward and slamming the shield on the merman he was fighting. He finished by spinning around and throwing the shield at the merman Taskmaster was taking care of, the shield bounced off its face and back into Taskmaster's hands. Taskmaster then tripped the merman he was fighting and slammed the thin side of the shield into its throat.

"Impossible." Kamiya muttered, "You are but lowly humans!" he scoffed, "Doesn't matter, kill them." the rest of the mermen charged forward. Kurumu was the first to charge forward with her nail claws extended and slice through several mermen at once. "What the hell?"

"Hu~uh?" Kurumu chuckled as she sliced through more, "You guys are a lot less impressive than I thought."

Several merman began to shoot highly compressed water guns at the succubus only for her to be saved both my Mizore who froze some of the water before it hit her and Taskmaster who blocked it with his shield and got knocked back towards the girls. "Ohhh." Taskmaster groaned as he was a little slow to get up, "Oh yeah...I'm getting on in years. Before fighting with broken bones was normal. Now it actually hurts." putting his shield away briefly he fired his wrist guns at the mermen and knocked them down instantly, "Placing that as a technicality, if you can slice through them I can do this. Besides, I only agreed not to kill the siren." he chuckled. Kurumu, Mizore and Taskmaster began to fight side by side, "So," Taskmaster began as he pulled out his sword and threw it in the air. He then began attack the mermen with his shield, "you're a succubus, right? That's peculiar, I haven't run into any of your kind in...oh, seventeen, maybe eighteen years. Real fine looking thing, actually she kinda looked like you." The girls stopped fighting briefly as Taskmaster caught his falling greatsword and spun to slice several enemies at once, "Do you have an older sister?"

Mizore chuckled, "Kurumu...is this your dad?"

"NO!" Kurumu protested with some red on her face, "Or...I don't know!"

"Relax," Taskmaster chuckled, "I was only yanking your chain. The succubus I was with was flat as a board, and Scottish. Man, I would kill to be 45 again, prime of my youth that was."

Kurumu let out a breath of relief. "Wait, you're 62?" Mizore asked, doing some quick math.

"Do me a favor," he said, ignoring Mizore as he tossed Kurumu his shield, "fly up there and protect yourself, yeah?" he pointed just above the group of mermen approaching them. Kurumu was hesitant at first, but did as she was told. As she did so, Taskmaster typed his coordinates into a tac-pad that was on his forearm which sent a singular pod supply cache to land just behind him and Mizore. Mizore gave a questioning glance, wondering how he got that to their location, "I'm always prepared." Taskmaster chuckled. He opened the cache and grabbed the P90 that was inside. He aimed at where Kurumu was flying and fired at his shield, causing the bullets to ricochet and hit multiple enemies across the small battlefield...and hit Ben in the lower thigh.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Ben cried out as he punched another merman, "AGAIN? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

"Yeah, that's for the broken foot, asshole." Taskmaster chuckled.

* * *

With Kokoa, she groaned as she continuously had to defend Tsukune and Moka, "Look, either pull your head out of your ass and fight or release my sister. It's your choice!" Kokoa grabbed Kou and changed him into his baseball bat form and tossed it at Moka, who caught the weapon and swung away knocking a merman into several others. "Alright, use that to defend yourself, I'll go hand-to-hand." she groaned. She then dashed ahead and joined Ben as he took on a massive horde of mermen alone. Jumping forward, Kokoa drop kicked a merman into another before standing back to back with Ben.

"Ready?" Ben asked.

"Yeah...wait, for what?" Before Kokoa could protest, Ben locked his arm around hers and began to spin her around while she kicked the mermen. Then he spun her on his back so she was resting on his left bicep before throwing her forward. Kokoa flew through the air like a bullet and performed a whirlwind kick knocking away several mermen at once. She stood still after landing to catch her breath, "Next time WARN ME, ASSHOLE!"

"Don't look now, but we've got company." Ben warned. Kokoa backed away and the two got into a similar stance before launching forward to perform a monstrous combo, "CRAWLER/VAMPIRE," both smirked as they began their attack and knocked several mermen away before getting to the last two and sent them flying into the wall of the building, "ASSAULT/BARRAGE!!" the two stood triumphantly as Ben flexed his left arm and Kokoa flipped off their opponent adorning a malicious grin, "Get fucked!" they yelled in unison.

* * *

Back with Moka, she began fending off the mermen, and Tsukune, taking Ben's advice about responsibility, decided to get serious and joined her side. Dashing forward Tsukune punched and kicked as many mermen as he could, while Moka next to him swung the bat and knocked the creatures away. Tsukune looked over to Moka and saw the cross dangling from her neck. He thought about rushing over to her and removing it, to get everything done and over with. But there was something in the back of his head telling him not too. Something told him that he would have to deal with this threat as is, that he couldn't rely on Moka forever. He wasn't sure what in his body told him this, but he realized it was right.

Tsukune snapped back to reality when he saw a merman getting dangerously close to Moka. Dashing forward, Tsukune grabbed Moka and rolled out of the way from the creature's water attack, then he threw a devastating punch that knocked the merman back to Ruby and Yukari who were having no issue taking on the mermen.

Kamiya stared in disbelief as his minions were being so easily dispatched, "How? Just what the hell are you lot?"

"We are those who wish for harmonious existence between humans and monsters." Ruby exclaimed as she used her earth magic to subdue the mermen.

"We won't allow you to overthrow the human world!" Yukari exclaimed as she hit several mermen with pans.

Ben threw down web bombs to stop a group of mermen in their place while Taskmaster threw his shield and had it bounce off their heads before coming back to him, "Yeah, what they said." Ben added.

Taskmaster cut down a merman and exhaled, exhaustion was starting to get to him, "I want to remind you that I am not with them. I'm just a mercenary. BUT, you getting rid of the human race means getting rid of me, and I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

The teens stood together in ready positions as Kamiya summoned more mermen. "So long as we live, we won't let you do as you please, Fairy Tail!" Moka shouted.

Kamiya grimaced at the group as they continued to fight. "Damn brats! GO TO HELL!" Kamiya began his song but once again it was canceled out by San. _Dammit, my song will continued to be canceled out by San._ he groaned, _She has that protective song. If I'm going to kill these brats I need to deal with San, but how!?_ Looking behind San stood Kawamoto who seemed to be having an existential crisis, trying to comprehend the fact that San and her friends were all monsters. _Perfect._

A merman began to be summoned near Kawamoto and once its head popped up it immediately fired its high impact water cannon. San, knowing that an attack like that would kill a human, jumped in front of Kawamoto, the woman she saw as a mother. "WATCH OUT MARIN!" she shouted. At that moment San was hit by the powerful blow and coughed out blood as she defended her mother-figure.

Kamiya stood and laughed, "No way! You actually went for that? I knew she mattered to you, I didn't think you'd try and give your life!" he chuckled, "Oh well, regardless, you've stopped your song. And now, my Death Melody can play! HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD!"

Kamiya opened his mouth, getting ready to end the lives of everyone in the area. Taskmaster was quick and ran off to a counter that was nearby. Jumping on the counter and lying on his back the mercenary reached under the counter top and grabbed a large rifle, his just-in-case weapon. Putting a bullet in the chamber, Taskmaster looked up and aimed at the siren's skull. Ben, saw what Taskmaster was doing and his lenses widened in surprise. Time slowed down as Ben lifted his arm up and began to fire a web ball at the gun. But just when it seemed it would hit the barrel, Kokoa jumped in front and blocked the webbing with her chest, a smile on her face. Taskmaster let out a breath and pulled the trigger, "I've killed gods worse than you." in an Instant, Kamiya was silenced, the top left quarter of his skull was obliterated, his eyeball popped out of his socket and as his body hit the ground what was left of his brain tricked out onto the concrete.

Ben and the teens stared in surprise as Taskmaster got off the counter and rested the rifle on his shoulder, "Woah, that was too close for comfort." he stated as he walked up to the siren and took a picture of his lifeless body. "Start chalking it up to old age."

The initial shock of what happened finally subsided and Ben approached the mercenary, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" he shouted as he grabbed Taskmaster by his collar, "We had a deal, 'No killing'!"

Taskmaster slapped Ben's hands off him and pushed something on his wrist, "Deal changed when it looked like I was going to die for a cause that isn't my own. I only agreed because I knew you'd help me, but you failed at subduing him yourself. It was him or me, and frankly, I prefer living." out of nowhere a small one manned aircraft came and opened it's cockpit. Taskmaster gave a salute and jumped into the seat. "Don't worry, I made contact with SHIELD before coming here. They are well aware of what's going on. Even sending a 'Monster Hunting' expert." he chuckled, "Catch you around, Slick." and with that he flew off.

"No." Ben muttered, "No, no, nononononono! DAMMIT!" Ben punched a brick wall and left a slight crater, "This is bad." he muttered to himself again. Looking back he saw his friends all worried. Kawamoto was crying over San, who seemed to be better, expressing how much she wanted to stay with San, and that it didn't matter she was a monster. And then there was Kokoa standing with her hands behind her head and smiling. His anger boiling over from hearing that SHIELD will be here any minute to undoubtedly screw things up, Taskmaster breaking his promise and Kokoa stopping Ben from stopping Taskmaster, Ben approached Kokoa and shoved her slightly, "What the hell is your problem?"

Kokoa scoffed, "My problem? I don't have a problem. What is YOUR problem. Trying to stop the guy who was going to save us."

"We don't kill people, Kokoa." Ben said with venom in his voice.

"AND WE DIDN'T!" Kokoa laughed, "He did! And who cares if the siren died, it's like Taskmaster said, it was him or us, and frankly I like my head on my shoulders. Or, would you prefer looking like that dick head?" she asked, pointing to Kamiya's corpse, "What's that thing you told me? 'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility'? Well, we have the power to stop him from killing others, so that makes it our responsibility to do so."

Ben clenched his fists, "If that is what you took from that...then you haven't been listening at all. As heroes we can't do that."

"WE AREN'T HEROES!" Kokoa shot back, "We're monsters, you're a vigilante!"

"We don't have the right to decide who lives and who dies. I thought you would have figured that out by now, but I guess not." Ben squinted his lenses in frustration, "You know what? Just go."

"What?" Kokoa asked with a smirk.

"I said leave! Go back into the room and get out of my face. I don't want to see you right now. I have way too much shit to deal with. Fuck off." Kokoa stared into his lenses before huffing and leaving to the room.

The other teens looked at Ben with concerned expression, "Ben--" Moka started but was quickly cut off when Ben put up his hand.

"I don't want to hear it. All of you too, leave." the other teens looked at each other before begrudgingly going back to the room.

Kurumu looked behind her adorning a frown, "You know, I get that you're pissed and what Kokoa did was wrong. But you're being a real asshat." As she left all Ben could do was slam his head against the wall.

* * *

Up in the room Kokoa looked down from the window and laughed at the sight of Ben slamming his head against the wall, "Haha, look at this little bitch throwing a temper tantrum." as the teens walked in she pointed to the window and laughed, "Guys, look at him throw a tantrum, I can't believe he got all pissed over--" before Kokoa could even finish she felt a hard slap against her face courtesy of Moka who stared at her with a teary eyed expression.

"I can't believe you." was all Moka could say with a very disappointed tone. Kokoa frowned and looked out the window again gasping slightly when she saw what looked to be armed soldiers approaching the building with a red headed woman leading the group.

* * *

"_Set up a perimeter. Damage Control get to work. Search for traces of other Fairy Tail members_." a women with a slight Russian accent commanded, speaking to the SHIELD soldiers as they approached the Hostel. The woman was the elite special agent, and Avenger, Black Widow. She had a tonboyish haircut, and wore an all black jumpsuit. She had wrist gauntlets that were also guns and had a belt around her hips with the red hourglass logo of a black widow. As she, the SHIELD soldiers and an unaffiliated ally of hers walked onto the premises they ran into Spider-Man, waiting for them. "_Oh, would you look at this. My least favorite vigilante._"

"_Hello, Widow._" Ben greeted with a nod. "_I know why you are here. I want you to leave._"

"_Leave?_" Widow chuckled, "_This here is officially SHIELD business. Once Fairy Tail over there made a move on humans it has become our job._" she explained, "_I wouldn't expect you to know everything._" Widow clicked her tongue, "_So where's the girl?_"

Ben's lenses widened in shock, "_What?_" he asked.

"_The girl, the one that siren was after. We already know she's here. We have...reliable information._"

Ben gritted his teeth, "_I won't give her to you._" Widow smirked slightly, "_If you plan on taking this girl away from her home then you'll have to pry her from my cold dead hands!_"

Widow gained a call on her communicator and pressed her ear to listen, _"Ma'am we've found some kids in the building. They may need to be questioned.__" _

"_Good, bring them down._" Widow nodded.

Ben's lenses widened again as he saw Kokoa in the window get taken by members of SHIELD. Ben's anger seemed to sky rocket as he got in front of Widow's face, "_If you hurt them I swear to God, I will break you where you stand! They have nothing to do with this, so leave them out of it!_"

"_My, quite hostile, aren't you?_" Widow questioned, "_Would you really risk being branded a traitor to protect these monsters?_"

"_Damn right! They aren't monsters, they're people!__ And if being branded a traitor for the rest of my life means protecting them, then I will._" as the kids were brought down and lined up the other woman, whom was with Black Widow stepped forward.

"_Hold on now,_" the woman started.

Ben cocked a lens, "_Firstly, eww, you have a Boston accent. Secondly, who are you._"

The woman nodded, she had fiery orange hair, fair skin and black lipstick. She wore a strapless orange jumpsuit and wore a black leather jacket. She also carried a guitar case with her, for whatever reason. "_My name is Elsa Bloodstone, I'm a monster hunter. I'm also an ally of Blade's he...told me to expect seeing you._" Elsa took a look at the kids and nodded, "_He...also mentioned you'd be_ _with Yokai students._"

Ben let out a breath of relief, "_So you understand._"

"_I do perfectly, but..._" the two turned to Widow who was already rubbing her temples in frustration.

Widow paced back and forth deciding on what to do, "_So...it seems that you have somebody to vouch for you. I can assume for now these students aren't part of Fairy Tail based on the fact you helped defend them from the siren._" Widow chuckled and looked towards the teens, "Fine," she started now switching to Japanese, "You monsters are off the hook for now. But just know that if anything happens it's his ass." she said pointing to Ben. "_Now, Damage Control. Start the clean up._"

**_So. He's taking the fall for us, hm?_** the 'Inner' Moka said to her Outer self in secret.

"Woah, what the hell happened here?" the teens turned in surpriseto see Gin looking a little battered up.

"GIN!" the teens shouted in surprise, "Where have you been?" Kurumu asked.

Gin shrugged, "Oh you know, around. So, what happened?"

"Fairy Tail." the teens said in unison.

Elsa walked up to Ben and tapped his shoulder, "_Spider?_" she asked, "_If you have any information on Fairy Tail, it's be nice to know. Both for my job, and SHIELD._" Ben nodded and he walked up to Gin.

"Gin," he called, "I know you followed Takahashi, did that lead to anything...weird?"

Gin nodded, "Yeah, you could say that. Why?"

"Because if you have anything about Fairy Tail, these guys will get off our ass." Ben said as he pointed to SHIELD.

Gin groaned, "So that's why they're here." he nodded, "Yeah, so basically--"

* * *

**Much Earlier...**

After being unconscious for some time Gin finally was forced awake. He was riding in some car being driven by Tsubaki. "Oi, Ginei, get out. We're here." Tsubaki announced as the car he was driving pulled up to a large building. Gin didn't think much of the building, but perhaps that was the point? Keep things inconspicuous, make any human passerbys think it's just a normal human building. "This is our hideout, Fairy Tail 7th Branch." Tsubaki said with a smile as he began to run his hand through Gin's hair.

Gin growled at the monster, "You mind letting go of my hair?" Gin asked, "The moment you find yourself in an advantageous position your behavior gets all out of wack. You have a shit personality."

Tsubaki scoffed and slammed Gin's head against the dash, "Oy Oy, watch your mouth you defeated dog." he laughed, "They're about to finish things over there too. 'God' left to take care of them personally. He'll be coming back with San real soon." Gin's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh yeah," Tsubaki smiled, "That inn is as good as finished. 'God's' song is a tune made for brainwashing. Once you hear that, you'll be brainwashed into becoming a member as well."

"Wait...WHAT!?" Gin yelled as he gripped Tsubaki's collar and began shaking him back and forth, "Dammit, if that's the case then there's no reason for me to be here! God, this is bad!"

Tsubaki grimaced at Gin's antics, _Who the hell does he think he is? _Tsubaki thought as he brought out the speaker from earlier, "You bastard. Do you not understand the position you're in!? If you don't shut up the. I'll hit you with this again--" suddenly, as if lightning flashed, the speaker was taken from his hands and destroyed, "...Huh?" Tsubaki asked with a shocked expression.

Gin groaned and wrapped his arm around Tsubaki, "Of course I know the position I'm in. I only 'lost' so your dumbass could escort me directly to your boss." Gin said as he scratched the back of his head. "Did you honestly think you'd beat me with some borrowed power, moron?" _Damn. Looks like I just missed 'em. _Gin thought. Nodding, Gin hopped out of the car and began to drag Tsubaki by his collar, "Welp, let's go check the place out!"

Gin walked in through the front entrance of the large corporate looking building, whistling at the interior, "Wow, pretty swank place. It looks like a real human office building. I guess that's the perfect camouflage, huh?" as Gin walked past the front desk the secretaries immediately started making calls and announcing that there was an intruder.

"Um...Ginei?" Tsubaki asked as he was being dragged up the stairs, "But, what exactly are you doing? Just walking through the front door. You have no business here, right?"

"Can't you tell by looking, you piece of trash?" Gin replied with a friendly smile and a seemingly friendly tone, "Since I already bothered to come all the way here I think I'm gonna trash this place you douche-scums live in just for troubling San-senpai." he smirked, "So, I need you to show me around, okay?

Tsubaki's eyes widened at what Gin was saying and he began thrashing about in a tantrum, "TRASH!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'TRASH'?" he complained, "Why the hell are you doing such a reckless thing for San's sake?"

Gin smiled, "Fighting for a woman is a man's romance isn't it? Besides, I owe her a huge debt." Gin smiled as he began to think about his time as a freshman when he joined the Newspaper club specifically to get out of class sooner and slack off, but then he thought about how San put him on the right path. And how in time...he realized his feelings for her were more than just stupid lust like he had for other girls. "I was a pretty dumb kid in my first year..."

* * *

**_*Record Scratch*_**

**_Hey folks! Deadpool here, breaking the fourth wall FROM ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!_**

What the fuck!? What are you--

**_I just came to poke fun at this line! Because Gin literally hasn't changed since his first year! Sure, he doesn't get into fights anymore, but he's still a massive perv who takes pictures of women in the locker room!_**

Great, thanks! I think they know that, now fuck off!

* * *

Gin shook his head as he seemed to have one of those weird occurrences when your vision becomes blurry for no reason, you know what I mean? Like you see the entire universe and it takes a bit for your eyes to readjust. "Weird." Gin mumbled, "Anyways, because of San-senpai, and her never abandoning me...it's like she awoke in my eyes." he smiled as he adjusted his hair, "She's someone who will treat anyone nicely and treasure their bonds. Actually, I wasn't the only person she helped--"

"Excuse me for interrupting your talk, but do you have an appointment, sir?" Gin looked up to the man who interrupted him as well as his partner walking beside him. One looked like a giant puffer fish and the other looked like an eel of some kind. But both were walking upright and wearing suits almost as if they were have in human form and half out. "We are responsible, for removing anyone who does not have an appointment." the eel man said. Gin grimaced and Tsubaki 'broke' free from his grasp.

As Tsubaki escaped he backflipped behind the two fish monsters who came to deal with Gin. "No need for him to answer, this guy's an enemy!" he warned, "Kill 'im, slaughter 'im!" Tsubaki began laughing maniacally as he easily outnumbered Gin, "You stupid idiot! I don't care about your 'debt' you can't do anything on your alone! So die, Ginei Morioka!"

Gin stood still with a cool expression and simply smirked as the two fish monsters were hit and knocked down instantly as if from an invisible force. "You should listen until people are finished talking." Gin said with a sigh, "As I said...I wasn't the only one who had a debt to San-senpai." the two fish monsters collapsed due to their injuries and Tsubaki looked behind Gin to see another man had shown up wearing a karategi. Gin chuckled at the stupid face Tsubaki was making, "Ah, I knew you'd come. If it involves San-senpai or little girls, you'll rush right over. Isn't that right, Haiji?" The man was Haiji Miyamoto, leader of the Yokai Academy Karate Club (see chapter 9).

"So...where is she? Where's San-senpai?" Haiji asked, his fist still raised. "When I heard you left to see San-senpai I hopped on a bus immediately. So...why'd you come out here?" he asked as he looked around at the strange building. Haiji then turned and fist pumped with excitement as he imagined holding San in his arms like she was a little girl, "When I see her again the first thing I'm going to do is lift her up and play with her!"

Gin cleared his throat, "Yeah, well...she's not exactly here."

Haiji slowly turned his head with a shocked expression adorning his face, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? WHAT SORT OF LIES HAVE YOU TOLD ME!?! Oh, just when I made a stylish entrance too!"

"Stylish?" Gin scoffed, "You're walking around in a gi, moron. You look like a loser."

"IT'S STANDARD UNIFORM FOR KARATE CLUB THOUGH!"

"Yeah, but we aren't in the karate club, are we!?" Gin countered.

While the two idiots were fighting, Tsubaki and now a large group of monsters amassed, "These idiots are just toying with us. KILL THEM!" Tsubaki yelled out.

Haiji sighed, "Geez, I haven't fought by your side in a long time." he groaned, "So, what? Are these guys friends of San-senpai's? Allies?"

Gin smirked, "What do you think?"

Haiji then grinned in response, "Well, well, well. If that's the case then there's no avoiding it. It'll be just like old times, eh Gin?" the two teens stood back to back as they readied for their battle.

* * *

**Present...**

"And basically me and Haiji just beat the shit out of everyone in the building." Gin nodded.

Ben's lenses widened in response, "Do...do you remember where the building is?" Gin nodded. "_Hey Widow! I think I have some information for you!_" Black Widow, begrudgingly, began to walk towards Ben and Gin, and the vigilante had to keep Gin from doing his normal antics. Ben cleared his throat, "_This is Gin, he'll give you the details._" Ben groaned and he walked back to his friends. He looked at the Hostel he and his friends had worked so hard to protect, and now he realized this area, this whole city, would likely be in some sort of SHIELD quarantine just like Hokuto just the year before. "_Fucking SHIELD._" Ben mumbled.

* * *

Later that night, after getting all the information settled, Black Widow sighed as she approached Kawamoto. "So," Widow began, startling the owner slightly. Kawamoto and the others were about to head to the beach, but she told San and the others to go ahead. "I have good news, and I have bad news." Widow started as she sat Kawamoto down, "The good news, because of...the unfortunate incident, as well as the involvement of Taskmaster, a mercenary on SHIELD's most wanted, Damage Control will repair your building." Kawamoto breathed a sigh of relief, "On top of that these SHIELD agents and Ms. Bloodstone will need a place to stay. Due to some...past occurrences, we want to make our presence as little known as possible. SHIELD is willing to rent out all the rooms until our job is done." Kawamoto didn't know how to react to that information. _All these people? For an undetermined amount of time!?_

"Wait...what's the bad news?" Kawamoto asked.

Black Widow smirked, "Due to Fairy Tail operating in area, we will likely be here a long time. So...do you prefer cash, check, or cryptocurency?" Kawamoto nearly fainted at the information.

* * *

Black widow began leaving towards her air transport only to see Ben Reilly, out of uniform, waiting for her. "_For a clone you act a lot differently. It makes me miss the mysteriousness of the old Spider-Man._"

"_Don't call me clone._" Ben said with a frown, "_I take it you're bailing and leaving your mess behind?_"

Widow, in turn, smirked, "_Relax. SHIELD recieved your...passionate message about what happened in Hokuto last year. Our goal is to be as discrete as possible this time._" Ben cocked an eyebrow, he didn't seem convinced. Widow rolled her eyes and lightly jabbed Ben in his side causing him to recoil in pain and cough profusely. "_Sorry,_" she apologized, "_I didn't realize you were injured. Anyways, as part of the new plan we have been lucky to have to help someone who's witnessed these creatures firsthand. We've already made arrangements to support this woman's business until we leave._" Ben blinked slightly in surprise and Widow gripped his chin with her right hand, a playful smirk spread across her face, "_See, we aren't all bad._"

"_Woah, back off grandma._" Ben pushed Widow away from his face and she began to walk towards her transport once again. "_Widow!_" Ben called out, "_Thank you. Making sure the Hostel stays open was all we asked for._"

"_I told you, I trust your judgment...for now._" Widow gave a wave as the doors to her transport closed, "_Until next time, Spider-Man__._" With that Black Widow left. SHIELD and Elsa, the monster hunter, stayed behind, but they promised no harm would come to San, and that Kawamoto would be greatly compensated for her cooperation. It wasn't the perfect win that Ben had hoped for, but it wasn't a loss either. And, on the bright side, Ben knew he wasn't the only one willing to fight Fairy Tail.

"Well, let's just see where this goes." Ben said to himself before he went to join his friends at the beach so they could light off fireworks.

* * *

**After Arc...**

Ben walked to the beach and smiled at his friends, San, Kawamoto, even Gin and that Haiji guy enjoying themselves. His eyes scanned the area and he eventually saw Kurumu standing on her own. Sighing slightly Ben realized that he may have been too harsh on her. Scratching his head he slowly sauntered over to the young vampire and pat her shoulder. "What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone, "Come to scold me more? Or are you going to slap me like sis did?"

"I'm...sorry." Ben said as he looked up at the sky. Kokoa recoiled slightly from what he said, "You see...I guess I just wanted to get a lesson across to you. Something you don't seem to get. You are more than a monster, you're who you make yourself out to be. And I believe you could be a hero."

"Yeah?" Kokoa asked with a snarky tone, "Why's that?"

"Because I see it in you." Ben replied with a smile, "I've seen it in you since the dungeons. You have the knowledge, you have power, I believe you have all the qualities necessary. You may think you're a monster, you may try to convince yourself that you're a selfish person who doesn't care for anything, but I know deep down that when push comes to shove you do the right thing. The issue is that your morality isn't exactly the best, which is fine...I mean, I'm not perfect either." Kokoa cocked an eyebrow in surprise, "You may not know this but sometimes I think the way you do, that it'd be easier to get rid of your enemies so they don't do the same. But that wouldn't make us any better than them. We aren't executioners." Kokoa frowned as she felt Ben was going to scold her again, "But...I've been down your road before. I even killed someone."

"You?" Kokoa asked with a surprised tone.

"That's right. I was in a similar situation we were in earlier today. An evil man was attacking me and my brother. He had stabbed me with his glider, trying to kill me. He then tried to kill my brother. But I wouldn't let him, I couldn't...so I took his glider and shoved it in his back too. Turns out where I stabbed him was the sweet spot, direct line to the heart." Ben sighed, "Look, kid, what I'm saying is that we make mistakes, and we can move past them. That's why I have been training you, and teaching you the way I do. Do you understand?"

Kokoa opened her mouth before she groaned, "No."

Ben sighed and he chuckled lightly, "Look, as a clone I don't have much time left in me. Hell, I'll be lucky if I make it to Forty. So, my plan was to leave something behind, for future generations."

Kokoa's eyes widened and nearly popped out of her head in shock, "A-Are you asking me to carry your baby!?" she asked, her face completely red.

"_Pfft_" Ben snorted, "NO! But it's funny because I did make it sound like that, my bad." he laughed, "No. What I mean is, I hope I can at least leave my knowledge onto you. I'll die at a young age, but you are a vampire! You'll live practically forever! And...hopefully one day you decide to pass the knowledge you've gained onto someone else."

"So...what? You want me to be like you?" Kokoa asked.

"No." Ben replied with a shake of his head, causing Kokoa to cock an eyebrow in confusion, "I want you to be better." Kokoa was speechless at what Ben had said, despite being so different he out so much faith in her. She continued to stare at Ben until the bright lights of fireworks caught her attention. Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulder and her eyes seemed to light up with joy slightly until she pushed him away

"W-What? Are you gonna confess to me or something? You perv!" Kokoa asked, her face still red.

Ben smirked, "Would that make you happy?"

"WHA--?" Ben grabbed Kokoa's shoulders and brought her in for a tight hug as the fireworks went off.

"Well...I do. I love you, Kokoa. You're like a sister to me. And, for what little time I have left, I want to be there for you." Kokoa was happy, but also strangely annoyed. Eventually Kokoa shoved Ben off her in anger and all he could do was laugh at her antics.

The night went on as usual and the teens relished in the sounds and lights of the fireworks. The next day, they'd be going back to Yokai.

**To be continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Done. See what I mean? Really long. better to split it up to give you guys something to read. Welp, that's the end of the Summer Camp arc guys! Next up we'll be going back to Yokai, but before classes start up again our heroes still have some time left in summer. That means more training. Time for Tsukune to put everything he learned from this trip to the test and fight Moka once more. But that's not all, Ben will have a...special surprise for the Inner Moka when they return.****The return home also means many twists and turns as well as something that may out a damper on the cheery mood some may be experiencing at the moment. What will it be? Stay tuned and find out.**

**Until next time, remember the words of Bill and Ted during these trying times 'Be excellent to each other. Party on, dude!'**

**See you next time.**


	19. End of Summer, Beginning of Fall

**End of Summer, Beginning of Fall**

* * *

After their "success" of a Summer Camp in the human world, the Newspaper Club returned back to Yokai with only one mission left: To see if the fruits of their labor allowed Tsukune to progress. That was the main reason they went there in the first place. Of course they may have run into more issues than they were expecting due to the Yakuza, Taskmaster, and the unfortunate appearance of Fairy Tail, but that too may have been a blessing in disguise. With new found confidence and sense of responsibility, Tsukune was quick to ask Moka for a rematch. Because of that the teens, including Ruby all met within the Monster's Paradise to see if Tsukune can make new progress with his ability. Even Ben showed up to watch, but he arrived with something interesting: a large metal briefcase.

"What's with the case?" Kokoa asked, "What, are you planning on staying here for a while?" she snickered. Ben could only smirk in response.

Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari all stood with baited breath as they saw Tsukune and Moka, now in her 'Inner' form, get ready to square off once again. "Oh, I hope Tsukune got out of the funk he was in." Yukari said with a worried tone, "Otherwise we may end up seeing a bloodbath."

"Oh don't worry," Ben said with a chuckle as he sat on his briefcase, "I have a feeling Tsukune will be perfectly fine. Hahahaha" Ben laughed almost ominously.

Tsukune and the 'Inner' Moka faced each other, both adorning a serious expression. Moka stood and stretched out her arms and rolled her shoulders a few times before popping her neck. Then she reached down and grabbed her foot and brought it up towards her hip, then proceeded to do the same for the other leg. "This is your fault you know, because you decided to man up and fight I had to sit on the sidelines and get all cramped." Moka said with a slight smirk, "Now...let's see if you brought that drive back with you to Yokai. Show me that killing intent!"

"No." Tsukune said bluntly causing Moka to frown, "I don't need killing intent to fight you. I just need to beat your ass." Moka cocked an eyebrow in confusion at the weird change of Tsukune's character. She turned to Ben who was trying to hold himself back from bursting into a laughing fit. "I don't need to learn from just you. I can learn from others too. So I'll take the knowledge I've gained and show you what I'm made of!"

Moka groaned and bit her lip slightly, "So that moron told you a few things." she said with a roll of her eyes, "You shouldn't pay too much attention to what he says you know. You'll never win with--UUAGH!" Moka was cut off by Tsukune sending a ferocious punch directly to her mouth causing her to bleed a little bit. She spit out a bloodied mess onto the ground.

"HOLY SHIT, HE ACTUALLY DID IT! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Ben laughed, falling off his briefcase in hysterics.

Tsukune stood with his fist out for some time, a serious expression plastered on his face before finally retracting. "'Don't wait for your opponent. Be on the offensive.' That's what you told me. 'Fuck killing intent, if she says that again punch her in the fucking teeth.' That's what he told me." Tsukune smirked, "I figured the best thing to do was take advice from the both of you."

"Holy shit, if Tsukune keeps acting this cool I may end up joining the harem with you girls." Ben joked.

Moka glanced over to Ben and grimaced, "Look, I don't know what the idiot told you. But believe me, it won't be as helpful as you think against me."

Tsukune nodded, "Yeah, uh...he knew you'd say something like that so he wanted me to remind you that he has much more combat experience than you do."

Again, Moka turned to Ben, an angered expression on her face. Ben pointed at her, laughed, stuck out his tongue and flipped her off. Moka's face turned red as she faced Tsukune again, "Okay. We will finish this quickly, then I'm going to kick his ass." Moka got into her stance and so did Tsukune and in a matter of seconds the two dashed forward and begun their confrontation.

**Music Queue: Blood Brothers--Papa** **Roach**

**(Quick A/N: Fucking laughing at this music choice because I know I will get flak for using fuckin' PAPA ROACH, lmao)**

Tsukune was first to send a jab forward, only for it to miss its mark and strike nothing but air. Moka got ready to cock back her foot and Tsukune, never losing eye contact with Moka, sent a very risky off balance leg kick that collided with Moka's leg as she began to kick causing the two of them to trip and fall to the ground. Moka growled and quickly got to her feet and went to send a flying knee to Tsukune but he rolled away. Then, as Moka turned to face her opponent, she was blinded by a handful of dirt being thrown into her eyes. _Dammit._ Moka thought, _This isn't what I've been training him to do! These are obviously tactics Ben would use. When the hell did he train with him? Behind my back? __No, that'd be impossible. Tsukune has been virtually within my sights the entire time. So how..._ Her thoughts were cut off as Tsukune came flying in with another heavy punch. Moka's eyes widened slightly and she grabbed his fist before countering into a judo throw.

_Damn._ Tsukune thought, _I thought I had her there. _As he got up he was immediately met with a high kick which he did his best to block, but he was too late to get his hands up and he took a shot to the side of the head. The force of the blow was so powerful it sent him flying against a couple of rock spires before crashing into the side of a plateau. "Oh, that sucked." Tsukune thought as he pushed himself out of the small crater and dropped ten meters to the ground and landed on one knee with a hard thud. "Oh, kept you waiting, huh?" he chuckled to himself before gaining a serious expression again, "Focus. She's close." Tsukune closed his eyes and tried to remember what Moka had told him before about monster detection. She explained to him that it sort of worked like a bat's echo location. If he focused enough he should be able to detect a sort of hue of their aura. Tsukune focused, he began to see a white dot, it started fuzzy, but got smaller and more precise. "SHIT!" Tsukune dived out of the way as Moka's kick just went right over his head and hit the plateau. _Note to self, learn aura detection better._

"C'mon Tsukune, focus!" Moka scolded, "You are just proving to me that you learned nothing in the human world." Tsukune grimaced, _C'mon. What would Ben do?_ Acting out of instinct Tsukune charged Moka and instead of going for an attack like she expected him to do he wrapped his arm around her body to get in close. Tsukune kept the grapple going and continued to either knee Moka or punch her lungs. Moka was finally able to break free, but Tsukune stomped her foot, causing her to lose balance and fall back. Tsukune then advanced to get in a superman punch, but Moka was able to catch herself with a back handspring and kick Tsukune in the chin on the dismount. Moka then took the opportunity to get close and land a couple of smaller kicks. She then sent a round house, but Tsukune was able to block by sending out a heavy jab. The force of the collison caused a massive shockwave that shook trees, disturbed animals and almost made the teens fall over from the force.

Using the force of the kick to allow push off, Tsukune performed a lariat, but Moka caught him mid-spin and threw him to the ground like she was spiking a ball. "Are you done?" Moka huffed out as she stood over Tsukune's downed form.

"No." Tsukune grunted out as he quickly grabbed one of Moka's ankles and pulled it forward causing her to fall to a knee. Tsukune then threw a left hook causing Moka to go on the defensive, but he purposefully missed and used his momentum to spin his body around and kick Moka across the face. Moka went flying and ended sliding along the ground for thirty or forty meters before coming to a stop. "Little punkass tricked me." Moka said as she spit out more blood, "He definitely learned a trick like that from Ben."

_HOLY SHIT, THAT WORKED?_ Tsukune thought. _Ben was right, watching battle anime for fighting moves is a genius idea._ The truth behind some of Tsukune's fighting style today would make Moka both furious, and embarrassed. _Okay...what else would Ben do? _"Haha." Tsukune let out a slight laugh, "Hahahahah-AHAHAHAHAHA!!"

"What's so funny?" Moka asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

Tsukune waved his hand back and forth, "Oh, it's nothing." he chuckled, "I mean, you wouldn't get it. Comedy isn't your thing." Moka's eyes squinted and she growled in frustration.

"Oh, the massive diss." Ben chuckled.

Moka charged forward and once again both her and Tsukune clashed. The two went back and forth with punches and kicks, and the more the two stayed in this battle clash the more Moka realized something peculiar. _He's...he's hitting harder?_ she questioned. _What the hell happened? He hasn't been hitting with this much strength before unless backed into a corner. Has he...has he learned?_ She let out a slight smirk as the fight continued. "It seems I was wrong, you truly have found that killing intent." Tsukune frowned, he sent several punches to the gut area before trying for a jab to the mouth, only for Moka to grab his wrist and twist, "Yeah, I'm not falling for that twice. Tsukune groaned in pain as Moka twisted his hand, thinking quickly he spit in her eyes and sent a headbutt to her nose causing Moka to back off. Tsukune then rushed forward and picked up Moka and body slammed her as hard as he could before curb stomping her in the teeth.

"YEAH!" Ben shouted as he stood up quickly in excitement, "WOOOOO! Did you see that!? God-DAMN that kicked ass!" Ben sat down again a smiled, "I think I definitely see what you girls see in him. I'm definitely aroused right now."

Finally sick and tired of all of Tsukune's shit, Moka stood up a blood red aura surrounding her body. Tsukune went for another attack but this time Moka countered into a right hook. She then grabbed the back of his head and brought his face into a high knee. She finished with a roundhouse kick that caused Tsukune to fly back until he landed near the other teens. Moka walked towards Tsukune, absolutely seething with anger, and just before she could do anymore to Tsukune, Ben cut her off. "HEY!" Ben shouted out, a smile on his face, "Holy hell, talk about a match, huh? I mean, I can't believe you let him, HIM of all people get under your skin." Ben chuckled, "Talk about a new low. But look, I don't think there's any reason to keep mauling on the poor guy. TSUKUNE! How do you feel?"

"Like...shit." Tsukune groaned as he struggled to get up.

"Ah, hell of a fight my guy. You definitely gave her a run for her money. Hey, crazy idea. How about a tag-out?"

"You want to fight?" Tsukune asked, completely dumbfounded, "Your funeral." Ben and Taukune smacked hands together and the other teens stood completely dumbfounded as Ben smirked.

"What are you doing?" Moka asked, now a little more calmed down.

Ben laughed, "Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna kick your ass!" Moka groaned and began getting into fighting stance before Ben stopped her, "Drink some blood first though. I don't want to hear about you bitching over 'Oh I wAs WeAk' when I win." Moka frowned until Ben showed the nape of his neck. _It...has been a while._ Moka thought as she approached Ben, he then stopped her just before she sunk her teeth in, "Remember--"

"'I'm terrified of needles' I know, I know." Moka smirked as she sunk her teeth unto Ben's neck and began drinking his blood. A taste she didn't realize she missed. Kokoa gagged at the sight of her sister drinking Ben's blood. How Moka could actually like the taste of Ben's blood, Kokoa could never understand.

"_I'm sorry._" Ben said quietly in English so that only Moka could hear. Moka's eyes widened slightly, but then she realized she had no idea what he was apologizing for. "_I've been an ass towards you. And I don't mean avoiding you when you guys were training, I don't mean telling Tsukune to punch your teeth in, even if that was funny. I'm sorry about earlier this year when I went off on you...you know THAT time. It wasn't right. But this time I want things to be right. So no holding back this time. You hear me?_"

_He...he's felt guilty about that this whole time?_ Moka thought, _Dammit. Why did he apologize. It...it should have been me._ Moka unlatched from Ben's neck and nodded. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when I leave you in a bloody mess."

"Weeeeeell..." Ben rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously, "If I'm being honest, I'm kinda using you as a guinea pig." he chuckled, "BUT FOR A GOOD REASON!" Ben laughed giddily as he started to open his mysterious suit case.

"What is that?" Moka asked.

"Yeah, Ben, spill the beans already." Kurumu added with a slight frown.

Ben chuckled he opened the case all the way, "Oh, this? This...is doom." Ben took off his web shooters causing Moka to cock an eyebrow in confusion. Kokoa looked over Ben's shoulder to see what was in the briefcase and her eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise. "Oh, here." Ben said as he handed Kokoa his web shooters, "Uh...go ahead and keep those, actually." Ben took a deep breath and began removing his clothes revealing some sort black suit. It was strange, it wasn't like his Spider-Man suit, it looked like a sneaking suit. The material fabric looked thick and, Moka noticed, there seemed to be some metallic padding in the rib cage area. The arms had a red pinstripe that separated the inner arm and outer arm. The fabric on the outer side of the arms looked thicker, and was also a very diluted and pale blue. _Perhaps more padding?_ she thought. Ben's hands had knuckle guards that were painted red. _So is that protection for his hand, or meant for extra damage?_ At the neck area the collar was widened out like it was a throat protector. Finally, after the obvious was noted, Moka noticed a bunch of different notches on the suit. It was as if something was supposed to attach to them.

"Kokoa, you wanna...led me a bit of a hand? I haven't put this on before." Ben asked with a sheepish smile. Kokoa rolled her eyes but nodded all the same. Ben and Kokoa began pulling out pieces of metal. One piece went over Ben's head and connected to his collarbone area, it also had a collar that popped up around the collar from his black suit. Kokoa picked up another piece and tried to put it on Ben's chest, "No, no, that's the back." Ben said as he picked up a different piece, "This is the front. Go ahead and put that on me though, that's the hard part." Moka looked at the pieces that Kokoa and Ben attached and saw a giant black spider that spread down to his naval area and the legs connected to the back piece. It was then Moka realized what this was. It was an armored suit.

After putting on knee guards, boots, thigh protectors, tricep and shoulder guards and a pelvic guard, Ben finished the suit by putting on gauntlets that took the place of his web shooters. Looking at the suit, Moka could assume it was either a prototype or not finished. The paint job was unfinished only covering the gauntlets, knee guards and the large spider on his chest. The armor itself didn't look like it was completely cleaned, but that could be due to Ben's inexperience with metal work? Moka was unsure. "So...what is it?" Moka asked again.

"I told you," Ben chuckled before wheezing in laughter, "It's doom!" Ben stretched slightly and popped his neck. He then began jumping up and down excitedly causing Moka to actually let out a chuckle, "Okay, OKAY! Listen," Ben started making exaggerated hand movements as he talked, "remember back in Yuki-Onna when we were attacked by your big titty, dark-skinned onee-san?"

"Didn't have to describe her like that." Moka and Kokoa said in unison.

"Yes I did. Anyways, I realized that, like an idiot, I only based the power scaling off YOU, Moka. Because of that I forgot the wise words of Master Qui-Gon Jinn: 'There's always a bigger fish.' THEREFORE!" Ben stuck his finger in the air, a crazy smile spread across his face, "I have come up with not one, not three, but TWO countermeasures to almost any monster. I call them Operation: Superman and Operation: Undecided." he said the last name with a very monotone voice.

"That's Undecided?" Moka asked.

"Yeah."

"So, what? It's just armor?" Moka asked with a shrug.

"Oh, Moka. The Spider Armor Mk. III is much more than 'just armor.' But giving away all it's details would be cheating." he laughed, "Now come on! LLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!" with that the other teens backed off and waited for the battle to begin with baited breath. Moka slid her feet into a fighting stance and Ben jumped up and down a couple of times before reloading his arms. The two stood still, neither moving just waiting to see what the other will do. "Hehehehe." Ben chuckled, "C'mon, Moka. Take the first shot." The other teens stared at Ben in disbelief, like he had gone crazy or something, "Or are you scared at what might happen?" Ben laughed. Moka squinted her eyes and the two of them moved slowly towards each other. Once Moka was at the distance she felt was right, she sent a side kick with her back foot. Ben smirked as he turned his body and held up his right forearm for defense. While his forearm blocked most of the blow, Moka's foot still pushed forward and collided dead center the massive spider on Ben's chest.

A loud popping sound was heard and the teens cringed thinking that Ben had broken his arm. "AAAAAGH!!" Moka recoild her leg back and gripped her foot in pain, much to the surprise of the teens. Moka took off her shoe and sock to show her big toe was crooked and pointing in a weird direction. "What the hell?" she asked herself as she snapped her toe back in place. Ben was nice enough to web her big toe and the toe next to it together to avoid too much movement. "Okay, I'll bite. What was that?"

Ben, still chuckling, gained a wide grin. "The most difficult material to obtain for this suit. This spider is the pinnacle of the suit, it ties everything together perfectly. It's the most protective piece, bullet proof, damn near indestructible and probably the strongest material on Earth."

Yukari frowned slightly at the description, "Wait...that sounds an awful lot like--"

"That's right, young Yukari!" Ben interrupted as he tapped the spider a few times, "This is adamantium."

Moka's eyes widened slightly in surprise, "The whole suit?"

"What? No. Just the spider." Ben replied. Moka gave a questioning glance that seemed like she was judging him, "WHAT?? Do you have any idea what I had to do to get just THIS much of adamantium?" Ben defended, "It was so difficult to get I literally finished it and attached it to the armor THIS MORNING! Like, it was 3 A.M. when I got this done."

"Okay...but that doesn't explain how you tanked my leg with your forearm like that." Moka mentioned, "Even holding back some, that much force should have done something to you. So what is the rest of your armor made of?"

"Oh, you know, a hodgepodge of different materials: titanium, polyethylen, silver, steel, holy water, etcetera, etcetera." Ben smirked as he saw Moka's bewildered expression.

Tsukune looked around and saw the other teens surprised faces, "What? What is it? Is it strong?"

Yukari shook her head in disbelief, "It's more than just strong. And it's more than just being used for protection. Ben didn't build that armor to defend himself...he built that armor to inflict damage. He's essentially created a weapon that is most effective against monsters!" she shouted.

"DING DING!" Ben said as he clapped his hands happily, "That's right. What you are seeing is an armor that has the holy water imbedded in the material. Thanks to using holy water to cool the material, I've essentially made a limiter that activates as soon as I'm attacked. It also does more damage to different species! And let's not forget about the silver laced knuckle guards, elbows and knees." Ben chuckled, "The reason this baby is untitled is because I haven't figured which name I like more. It's a coin flip between 'The Moka Buster' and 'The Monster Hunter'. Either way, it kicks ass...theoretically." Ben took a deep breath and smiled at the surprised looks the others gave him, "Ah, don't look at me like that. After all, that'd be giving me too much credit. It was the Headmaster who helped me turn this into a holy weapon."

"So this was the plan he made for Ben?" Ruby said to herself upon hearing the news.

"Come on, Moka! Help me break this in, and let's test the limits!" Moka put her shoe back on, stood up and got into a fighter's stance once more, a huge smirk plastered across her face. "ALRIGHT!"

**Music Queue: A Warrior's Call--Volbeat**

Both Ben and Moka charged forward, Ben sending a left straight and Moka sending a roundhouse. The two attacks collided and the two smirked to each other. Moka tried to pull her foot back to get ready for another attack, but was stuck, "Adhesive body, remember?" Ben taunted as he used his grab Moka's thigh and lifted her off the ground, performing a 360 turn before slamming Moka into the ground. Moka quickly rolled back and got back on her feet just in time to block a web zipped superman punch. Moka then grabbed Ben's arm and twisted it. Ben was then able to show his flexibility by twisting his body with his arm which allowed him to gain a reversal and pulled Moka forward so he could land a knee to her gut. The silver in Ben's armor shook through Moka's body like jackhammer. _Shit, I have to watch out for attacks like that__. _she noted.

Moka bending over from pain, Ben was able to reach around her body and lift her up as he got set for a power bomb. Once he slammed her to the ground, Moka wrapped her legs around Ben's head and rolled back, which caused him to slam to the ground with her sitting on his chest. "Ha! I always knew you were a bottom." she quipped.

"Oh, you're a comedian now?" Ben laughed as he palmed Moka in the chest and launched her off him, "Little bit of roll reversal is fine and all, but I don't think I could play the cold and shy type."

"Oh sure, I'm the shy one." Moka scoffed, "Mr. 'Waits Until The Last Minute To Confess'."

Ben slumped his shoulders, "Yeah well...you liked it!"

"Awe, they're flirting." Yukari laughed.

Kokoa gagged, "I knew Ben liked my sister, but this is honestly just gross."

Kurumu laughed, "God, I can FEEL the sexual tension between those two."

"Did nobody else notice that Kokoa called him Ben? And not 'Reilly' or 'American'?" Tsukune pointed out.

"Hm, she's right though. Ben doesn't have any game." Mizore said with a nod.

After the two finished their little squabble they went back to the fisticuffs. Ben charged forward and acted as if he was going for a heavy punch, Moka got ready to defend but the punch never came. Instead Ben shot two web lines behind Moka and slid between her legs before popping back up and performing a spin kick to the side of Moka's head. "God dammit, I can't believe I fell for that stupid tactic twice." Moka grumbled to herself. Moka turned and avoided a roundhouse from Ben. The two began to send kicks at each other, whatever Moka sent Ben would counter with the same attack and vice versa. From afar it almost looked like swordsmen parrying strikes from their opponent.

The two switched from kicks to punches, each of their attacks, again, being parried by each other. Going for a grapple the two reached their hands out and locked at their fingers. Now it became a battle of who had more strength. Clearly Moka had the advantage, despite the limiter she was still just as, if not stronger than Ben. She pushed forward and Ben began leaning back, but he wasn't giving up. Ben snickered, "What?" Moka asked.

"Holding my hands, you're such a perv." Ben snickered.

"WHAT!?" Moka cried out with a red face. Moka lost some ground as Ben was able to push back. "Yeah well, you're holding them too. So now who's the pervert?"

Ben smiled sheepishly, "If I'm being honest, I want hold a lot more than your hands."

Moka growled as her face became redder, "Awfully cocky today, aren't you?"

"I'm having a good day." Deciding to try and break out of the awkward hand holding fight, Ben cocked back his head for a headbutt and Moka did the same. Both snapped their heads forward and they collided with each other with a loud thud. Both Ben and Moka ended up backing away, holding their heads in pain. "Ooooh...next time we bump heads, let's let it be with our mouths." Ben groaned.

"I'm gonna pop you in the mouth if you don't shut up." Moka retorted.

"Oh please, you know I'm a chatterbox." Ben laughed, as did Moka as the two got into a fighting stance again.

"And you're all sure these two haven't slept together?" Ruby asked, receiving head shakes from the other teens.

Moka went for another side kick, but Ben performed a back handspring to dodge. When he landed Ben shot out several web balls to hold Moka's feet to the ground. Ben then rushed towards her before jumping past her, webbing her face in the process, before landing and yanking down. Almost like whiplash, Moka's knees buckled and she fell backward, slamming her head into the ground while her feet were still webbed.

Moka ripped the webbing from her face and "struggled" to get the webbing off her feet. When Ben was close enough, Moka kicked her leg up, dirt and all, and slammed it into Ben's side and set him flying across the battlefield. Ben was slow to get up as he held his side in pain, "Note to self, really watch out for rib shots." he took a deep breath but felt a sudden pain when he did so, a pain so bad it made him fall to a knee. "Ooooooh, shit." Ben tried to breath again, but it felt like he was gargling water. Feeling the choking sensation he choked and gagged spitting out tablespoons worth of blood. Everytime he tried cough he would breath, and when he breathed he felt the pain in his side, which then felt like he was gargling. Eventually Ben realized he couldn't get any airflow going to his lungs and he began to choke. Thinking as logically as he could he began to take off his armor and even ripped his black suit open, revealing his chest.

While this was happening, Moka and the others looked on with worried expressions. Ben was slow to get up, so naturally the teens thought that Moka got a really good hit in. After all, the sides were some of the less protected areas. When Ben began ripping off the armor that's when they began to rush over. By the time they got to Ben he was on his back and not moving. Moka being the first to act checked to see if he was breathing. Getting nothing, she optimized airflow for his body by tilting his head back slightly. She then began to perform CPR on him until he coughed up blood. Moka heard a gurgle as Ben unconsciously tried to breath, "He's drowning!" she said as she frantically tried to get the blood out of his lungs, however whatever she did Ben still couldn't breathe.

"Hold on." Kurumu extended one of her nails and jabbed it into Ben's lung area and quickly pulled it out allowing blood to escape out the wound she made. Ben coughed more blood and was breathing again, but just barely. "Alright. Let's get him to the hospital."

* * *

When the teens reached the hospital on the campus they were able to get Ben in quickly. The doctors seemed to be moving fast too. However, because of the doctors needing to make sure Ben was okay, the group hadn't recieved any information on his condition. It has been over two hours and the teens were still in the waiting room. "You know Kurumu," Moka started, "I was actually pretty impressed with how you handled that situation. I never would have thought about forcing the fluid out of his lung that way."

"Awe, thanks Moka." Kurumu said with a smile.

"Where did you learn to do that anyway?" Kokoa asked.

Kurumu tapped her fingers together, a nervous expression on her face, "Um...I didn't learn it. I just saw it on a movie once and thought it would work."

Moka and Kokoa stared at Kurumu with half lidded eyes in complete disbelief, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say you tried something because you 'saw it in a movie'." Moka groaned.

Tsukune sat in one of the chairs his leg bouncing up and down, nervous about the condition his friend was in. "Come on. Somebody tell us something." Tsukune thought back to the year before and everything that happened. It didn't know what god was listening, but he prayed that it wouldn't be the same. A doctor walked into the waiting room, he had to tell something to the receptionist, Tsukune saw this as his chance. "Excuse me." Tsukune called out, gaining the doctors attention. The doctor was a middle aged Indian man with graying hair. "Sir, can you please tell us what's going on with Ben?"

The doctor looked through his papers and then to the students who seemed to be gathering around him, "Friends of his?" he asked.

"He's practically my brother." Tsukune said with a very serious expression. The doctor sighed and looked at the students before nodding.

"Look, it's a bit of a difficult situation. We have to perform surgery on him."

"What, why?" Kurumu asked.

The doctor tried to keep the students quiet, "Well, you see, Mr. Reilly's ribs are or rather, were, greatly broken. Some of his rib had snapped off and lodged itself into his lung. Over time, because nothing was done about it, be it because he never got it removed or he just didn't know, the lung inflamed and healed around the bone fracture causing it to become infected and remain inflamed. The reason why he nearly drowned in his own blood is because of the strenuous activity he would perform allowed the bone to tear and cut through the lung which caused blood to fill into the sacks as he inhaled, which would also fill the other lung." the doctor explained, "I'm quite shocked he didn't come in sooner, he should have been experiencing some serious chest pains, maybe harder breathing, even coughing up blood would have been an indicator. Did he tell you nothing? Did you see anything?" the teens shook their head.

"He never complained about anything like that before." Tsukune said with a frown, "But, considering what he does I wouldn't be surprised if he just thought it was another injury."

"Yes, we are quite aware of Mr. Reilly's...exploits, same with all of you really. We already have a shortcut in the system if we get a patient that decided to tussle with any of you kids." the doctor laughed trying to raise the teens' spirits but saw they weren't really in the mood, "Anyway. Thankfully, he didn't drown. However, we will need to perform the surgery to actually remove the fragment as well as keep him over for as long as necessary so he can heal. I hope you understand." the teens looked at each other and nodded, "Good. Now, why don't you all go back to your dorms and relax."

* * *

Several days pass. The surgery was a resounding success, so now Ben just had to rest up and heal, allow the inflammation to die down before doing any strenuous activity. Ben heard a knock at the door of the room he was staying in, "Come in." he called, groaning from the slight pain in his chest. The door opened and in walked the doctor with a folder un his hands. "Ah, doc. How are you?" Ben asked, "I'm assuming a lot better than me. Hehehe."

The doctor, same Indian man from earlier gave a slight smile, "Mr. Reilly, I believe it's time we talk about something...something important." the doctor said with a serious tone which caused Ben to sit up straight in his bed. The doctor locked the door behind him and pulled up his chair near Ben, before placing a picture on his lap. "Mr. Reilly, can you tell me what that is a picture of?"

Ben looked the picture over and shrugged his shoulders, "Um...a CT scan of my lungs? I guess."

"Well, you're...half right." the doctor nodded, "Those are the lungs of a healthy twenty year old." he then placed another picture on Ben's lap, "Those are your lungs." Ben couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was like night and day. His lungs looked like they were decaying or shriveling up, it looked like it was starting to turn a black color. "Mr. Reilly, you wouldn't happen to have been a smoker for thirty years, would you?" Ben, of course shook his head, "And that's not all." the doctor began laying out different picture of his organs, all looked like they were starting to turn black and were starting to shrivel. "I've never seen anything like this. I don't know what in this known world could have done this to your body, whether it's an infection, or a rare unknown disease. I'm at a loss. The only thing in your body that looks semi-healthy is your heart, and that still looks like it belongs to a middle aged man."

"What does this mean?" Ben asked.

"That's the question of the hour, isn't it. I don't know. I'm no biologist, so I couldn't tell you exact specifics. But it doesn't take a professional biologist to tell that you are very sick. I think I know of someone who could study your body and tell you what--"

"NO!" Ben interrupted, "Uh...I mean, I know a guy myself. I'd rather have someone I trust look at me, you know?"

The doctor nodded, "I understand. I'll get the photos together, as well as the sample of your lung tissue." with that the doctor left leaving Ben to sit and linger on everything he had just heard.

"Huh..." was all Ben could say as he tried to think about how he would handle things going forwards.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Yikes, bit of a sour note to end on, but that was the point.** **So, I bet you have some questions. What's going on? What happened to Ben? Why did this happen? Well I have answers.**

**1) You'll see.**

**2) He's sick, but that's all I can say right now.**

**3) I've literally have been hinting at this since they fought Kahlua. **

**Anyways. I just wanted to get another chapter out quick before I go and do a Face the Music chapter or two. Also, fun fact: We are probably about 1/3 of the way through the story. Crazy right? Welp, remember to follow, favorite and leave those reviews. Have some fun, tell me what you think is wrong with Ben. It'll be like a game until it gets revealed.**

**Laters guys, party on, dudes.**


	20. The Lost Fable

**CRUDEN: ****You know, I didn't say this before, but the reason why I didn't use Elsa more is because...I don't really know her character. Buuuuut, maybe you'll see her again?**

**GotSoap: Welcome! I really hope you read the previous story first though.**

* * *

**The Lost Fable**

* * *

Tsukune and Moka stood on the terrace of the snackbar at Marin's Hostel back in the human world. Tsukune wore a plain white button up short-sleeved shirt and plaid pants. And Moka wore a pretty light-pink spaghetti strap dress. The two stood close to each other and stared out towards the ocean. "Say, Tsukune..." Moka started, "promise me, well, we're going to become adults some day, aren't we?" she asked now closing the distance between herself and Tsukune. She looked up at him, her chest almost pressed against his, a slight blush on their faces. "When that time comes, will we stay together? Together, forver...and ever?" she asked. She leaned up against Tsukune and he held her in his arms.

"Of course, Moka." Tsukune replied as the two moved their heads closer together.

Suddenly, Tsukune felt a soft, but firm force slam into his face, "YAAY!!~" Kurumu yelled out as she arrived in front of Tsukune with a wide grin on her face, "You've just made me so happy, Tsukune."

"KURUMU?" Tsukune asked with a bewildered tone.

"...Wait, Tsukune said he'd be together with me too." Mizore, seemingly popping up out of nowhere said with her typical cool demeanor.

"MIZORE?!?"

"Oh, and me?" Ruby asked.

"ME TOO!" Yukari shouted.

Tsukune looked all around at the girls, nearly pulling his hair put, "What is going on!?"

The girls began march forward in unison, "You can't keep putting it off forever, you have to choose eventually." the girls said.

"Don't worry about it, Tsukune." Tsukune turned to see Ben leaning on his shoulder, but for some reason he was dressed up in drag while wearing a maid costume like he did during the festival the year before. Another weird thing was that Kokoa was wrapped around his arms and she was wearing goth lolita style clothing. "Whatever happens, happens. Everything will be okay in the end. And besides, if you don't choose any of them. You. Still. Have. Me." Ben said, making his fingers walk up Tsukune's chest with every word until he pulled him forward for a kiss.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAGH!" Tsukune shot his body up from his bed and looked around. "That's right," he breathed out, "It's been weeks. We've been back for awhile now." Tsukune wiped the sweat from his brow and took a deep breath, "A dream, it was just a dream. An awful, scummy...really weird, dream. No, seriously, what was with that part with Ben?"

* * *

**Next Door...**

_HA!_ Dreamqueen laughed as she sat on Ben's desk while he was able to, finally, catch up on some commissions he had to do. _Oh my god, you will not believe what__ I __did._ she started fanning her eyes to try and dry the tears of laughter.

"_You did something?_" Ben asked, almost shocked, "_Like, you actually did something other than try and seduce me? I'm shocked._"

_Shut up._ Dreamqueen pouted as she slapped Ben's shoulder. _Okay, so get this.__ You're friend was having a terrible nightmare,_ she said sarcastically, _so to make him feel a little better I'd interfere, you know, try to make him laugh...hehehe_ she stopped her story and broke into a laughing fit, slapping her leg in the process, _and his subconscious is so worried over which girl he's gonna pick, he even considered you in drag to be a possible end result._

Ben perked up slightly at the sound of that with a confused expression plastered on his face, "I...don't know if I should be flattered, or terrified." Ben shrugged and put down his stylus so he could take a quick break. He stretched slightly then gripped his side in pain, his lungs still a little tender from the surgery.

Dreamqueen gained a worried expression, _How are you feeling?_

"_Good...but bad_." Ben replied with a groan, "_Like, I feel good because I made up with Moka over me being a massive dickhead, but I feel bad because my body hurts. Every once in a while breathing feels like my chest is being impaled by glass._" he complained, "_I think...I'm gonna have to use THAT early now. Which isn't a bad thing, always good for a test run, but I really hoped to only use it in dire situations._" Ben sighed, "_But, even I have to admit that my mobility is going to be more limited without assistance._" Ben removed a small tarp that covered a medium sized machine with a glass front so he could see into it. Inside the machine particles rotated around each other. Pressing a few buttons on the machine the box let out a bunch of steam before opening. Ben reached inside as the particles stopped moving around and grabbed what was inside. He then pulled out two golden web shooters and smiled.

_Wait. That's it?_ Dreamqueen asked, _It just looks like normal web shooters...but with more vanity._

"_Well, looks can be deceiving, can't they?_" Ben chuckled.

Dreamqueen frowned again, _Speaking of looks...what about...you? What about your problem?_

Ben sighed, "I...I've taken care of what I could for the time being."

* * *

**New York...**

A young man, about 28 years old, walked into the lobby of a large tower. The Baxter Building. The man had a muscular build, had dirty blond hair wore jeans and wore a leather jacket over his main suit. The man, was Johnny Storm: The Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. Before Johnny could use the elevator to head up to the penthouse he was stopped by Stan the Doorman. "Mr. Storm!" he called out. Stan was old man with grayed hair, a gray mustache and thick rimmed glasses. "Mr. Storm, on your way up could you give the mail to Mr. Richards?" he asked as he handed some envelopes to Johnny, "Also, this one." he then handed Johnny a small box that the hero thought was peculiar because it had no return address. In its place was a card Johnny recognized too well, "Courtesy of your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." Johnny nodded and took the elevator.

Upon reaching the penthouse Johnny walked through the doors to see his friend, and ally, Ben Grimm, The Thing sitting on the couch and watching Sports Center. By him was Johnny's nephew, now 12 year old, Franklin Richards juggling balls with telekinesis, "Hey Uncle Johnny." he called out, "Check it out, I can juggle six balls now."

"That's great kid, now try it with liquids, without spilling this time!" Johnny teased.

"Oh come on, it was one time!" Franklin lost focus and all the balls he was juggling fell to the ground, "Ah, dang..."

Johnny chuckled as he walked into the next room to see his sister, Franklin's mother, Susan Storm: The Invisible Woman. Next to her was her husband, and super genius, Reed Richards: Mr. Fantastic. Reed, still mulling over the loss of some important blueprints a year prior, was stuck trying to recreate the lightning in a bottle that was his interdimensional transporter. The aging hero sighed as he dropped his pen on the table and rubbed his temples. "Reed, Sue." Johnny called out as he walked into the room, "We have mail. Lots of it...like weeks worth. We should really have a house sitter when we go on massive missions, yeah?"

"We can't do that, Johnny. What lies in this building is too dangerous even for the likes of some of our allies." Reed replied, "Easier if we just keep it locked down and pick up what we can when we return." Reed stretched his arm like it was rubber all the way to Johnny and grabbed the mail sans the box, "So what do we have? Bills, bills, postcard, junkmail, People, newspaper." Reed nodded as he threw away the junkmail, "So what's that? The box. Is it for you?"

Johnny rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Not...exactly. I think it's for you. It's from the Spider-Clone."

"Johnny." Sue said sternly, "He has a name, you know. At least give the brother of your friend that much respect."

"'Brother'." Johnny replied in quotations, "Look, just take a look in the box." the two scientists looked at each other and nodded. Sue grabbed a letter opener and cut the tape off the box before opening it completely. She began taking out the contents and placing them on the table. Reed was quick to glance over the I photos that were placed on the table. Intrigued, he hummed as he looked at the two different photos of lungs marked "Normal" and "Mine."

"Oh my." Reed said as he shook his head, "This isn't good, no, not good at all."

"What? Is the guy sick or something?" Johnny asked.

Sue gasped and held her hand to her mouth in shock, "Sick is an understatement." she replied. She then began to read the letter that came with the photos, "Dear, Mr. Richards. I know you don't know me that well, but I know that you and my brother were once good allies. Enclosed I have sent you several photos. All except one are mine (take a guess which). I can't say for certain what is happening to me, but I have a good guess." Sue sighed, "I know this isn't your area of expertise, but with Doctor Connors gone I don't know who else to turn to. I also know that you are in good with SHIELD while I have less than favorable relations with them. Inside I have also sent you tissue samples of my lungs, if there is any possibility I would like you to get this analyzed. Sincerely, Ben Reilly."

Sue shook her head, "Absolutely awful. What should we do, Reed?"

Reed cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger. "I don't know," he said while shaking his head, "He's right. This isn't my area of expertise. I can make quick estimates on what's happening but without an expert in biology like Connors, I don't think--" Reed suddenly stopped mid sentence and his eyes widened in realization, "Biology Expert." he said quietly.

"What, what is it? Did you figure it out?" Johnny asked.

"Yes...and no. See, we need a biology expert. So what better person to test this sample than the man who'd be an expert in Mr. Reilly's biology." Reed said as he held up the sample.

Sue gasped, "Reed, you don't actually mean--"

"Yes, I'm afraid I'll have to make a trip. Alone. To The RAFT."

* * *

**Yokai Academy...**

Moka stood happily as she waited on the path outside the dorms that lead to the school. **_Someone is awfully cheery today. _**"Well duh," Moka giggled, "I'm just excited to start classes again with Tsukune. **_Ugh...You've literally seen him all summer. _**"Oh whatever, don't pretend you aren't excited to see Ben again. Especially after what he said." Moka said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. **_Wha--? I have NO idea what you're talking about._** 'Inner' Moka defended. "Admit it, you were SUPER happy when he apologized, and even happier when the two of you went toe-to-toe. Hell, you were so happy you let yourself come out of that cold shell and loosened up with him. You were being witty, I think you were trying to impress him. 'I knew you were a bottom' Ms. Jokester over here." Moka laughed. **_Alright, I get it. No need to rub it in. It was a lapse of focus. Something about fighting Ben just changes me. I don't know why, but it feels like when I'm around him I begin to think like him._** "So what now?" **_What do you mean?_****_._** "Well, I think you owe Ben a response. After all, he did exactly what you asked. You can't leave him in the dark." **_Well..._** "Don't say you aren't sure either, I know you already have your answer." **_Shut up. _**Again, Moka laughed from how flustered her other was becoming.

Looking up, Moka saw Tsukune walking towards her and she let out a sweet smile, "Oh, good morning, Tsukune!"

Tsukune gulped as he looked into Moka's eyes, his mind still thinking about that weird dream, "Oh, g-good morning, Moka." he greeted with a slight bow. _Oh wow. She looks as incredible as ever. It's like she's glowing._

Moka giggled, "My my. How formal you are today. Let's have another good semester, yeah?" **_Did we have a good first semester? I seem to recall us having to deal with murderers, I pissed off Ben, _****_we almost lost Mizore who also was sexually assaulted, we barely beat Kahlua who must have been the one to break off Ben's bone in his lung. OH YEAH, Ben almost died again, we completely ignored him like asshats during training, he and Tsukune both almost got seriously injured by that mercenary, Fairy Tail showed up again, you were kidnapped by that Yakuza before that. Oh, and that red headed chick giving Ben a hard time was...a massive bitch. Face it, our first semester was awful._**

Tsukune rubbed his head nervously, "Of course." the two began walking down the path to school and Tsukune still couldn't help thinking, "So...have you ever thought about your future plans?"

"Hm? Future plans?" Moka echoed back, "Have you been worrying about those types of things, Tsukune?" Moka asked with a curious expression.

"Ah, n-n-no, I haven't been thinking about anything specific." he laughed nervously as he waved his hand back and forth. "It's just that...we met San and Marin during our trip, right? I mean, you can understand if I got a little bit worried about trying to live independently." he chuckled, "Maybe we shouldn't get so impatient trying to think about our future."

"That's a terrible idea, Tsukune." Moka chimed in, "It's a really bad idea to try putting off thinking about your future you know."

"Ha ha ha! Why don't I remove that worry for you!" the two teens looked around the forested area, searching for where the new voice came from. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a humongous panda bear, standing at least 4 meters tall, emerged. It broke through small trees like nothing. The two teens stood in absolute shock before the bear let out a vicious roar.

"There are bears here?" Moka asked.

"Forget that, RUN!" Tsukune yelled as grabbed Moka's wrist and began running towards the school.

"Ahahaha. Wait, wait. Don't go, it's perfectly fine." the two stopped in their tracks to see a mysterious woman standing before them. She wore a changshan (traditional Chinese coat) black pants and black dress shoes. She had a beautiful heart shaped face and her long hair was tied into a braided ponytail. Tsukune continued looking at her attire with a confused expression, _Isn't that, like, boys clothing? _he thought. The woman patted the bear on its back as it calmed down, "Do not worry, this is merely my assistant." she bowed slightly before placing her hands behind her back, "My name is Won, FanFan. It is a pleasure to meet you, Tsukune Aono." she greeted.

_Another girl? _Tsukune thought, _No wait...that name is pretty masculine sounding, and those clothes. But...that face and voice..._ Tsukune mentally tried to deal with his confusion. "Um...how do you know me?" he asked.

FanFan smiled, "You are worried about your future, no? Well, what if I told you that I have a solution!" she smiled, "You could employed by my influence for eternity! (Marriage)."

"WHAT!?" Moka and Tsukune yelled in unison, "PROPOSING WHEN WE DON'T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER!?" Tsukune continued.

"Absolutely!" FanFan said excitedly as she rushed to Tsukune's face and clasped his hands between hers. "Actually, a man such as myself has always been searching for a man like you. I want you to become a member of my family, no matter what!"

Tsukune stared at FanFan for some time before realization dawned on him, "Wait, what?"

"Wait, what?" Moka asked. **_Wait, what?_** her 'Inner' self asked, also catching on.

Wait...what?

O-Oh, YES! Um...it appears FanFan was in fact, a man all along and the reliable narrator totally didn't have weird thoughts...no sir. Anyways...Tsukune shook his head and figured he should double check, "Um...I'm sorry, FanFan...did you say you were a man?"

"Yes!" he replied happily, "I'm male. So what?" FanFan turned back to his panda to grab something, "Here, I'll let you see what I mean. The warmth of bonds between men is...HEY WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" FanFan yelled out as Tsukune had grabbed Moka's hand and began rushing to the school again.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not into that Boys Love stuff!" Tsukune shouted back.

* * *

Tuskune and Moka eventually made it to the club room where the others were waiting. Mizore and Kurumu were getting the papers packed into boxes for disbursement the next day. Yukari was reading Boys Love manga (coincidentally) and had somehow convinced Kokoa to do the same. Gin was resting at his desk and Ruby was by him. Ben leaned back in his chair so only the back two legs were on the ground and he rested his feet on the table while he played the guitar riffs from "Otherside" by Red Hot Chili Peppers on his guitar. "Hoh~ So you finally attracted a boy, eh Tsukune?" Mizore asked.

"Finally?" Ben asked, jokingly, "I've been here since like...week two." Ben said defensively, "Oh, Tsukune, don't tell me you've forgotten!" Ben laughed.

Tsukune looked at Ben and his imagination cut to his dream again. Red faced, Tsukune turned away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Regardless," Mizore continued, "If you keep being unfaithful to us I may have to stab you." she threatened as her hand turned into an ice claw.

"You can't go out with a boooy." Kurumu whined as she wrapped her arms around Tsukune's shoulders from the back, "I mean a woman is bad enough, but an affair with a man is too muuuuuch!"

Yukari hummed happily as she read her BL. "Well, actually, Boys Love is becoming more accepted in the human world as a wholesome affair."

"HOW IS THAT WHOLESOME!?" Tsukune yelled out causing Ben to play off key and stop abruptly.

"Tsukune." Ben said sternly, "I am so ashamed of you." he said while shaking his head.

Tsukune cocked an eyebrow in confusion before he realized what he said, "No, no, nononononono. Nononononono, that isn't what I meant! I just mean that...when one guy and another...um...well..."

"Seriously, Tsukune? Come on man." Ben shook his head, "It doesn't matter who we are, who we love (except pedophiles) as long as we follow the key principles of coexistence then we can live in harmony."

"What key principles?" Tsukune asked, "Have you figured something out that we haven't?" the others looked at Ben expectantly as he stood up and put his guitar down.

"_Ahem_." Ben cleared his throat as he held his left hand out to his side and above his head while his right hand rested on his heart, "Be excellent to each other." he smiled before holding out his index finger showing he still had more, "Annnnnd...PARTY ON, DUDES!" he shouted excitedly gaining a bemused smirk from Gin and a snort from both Koko and Moka.

Tsukune stared at Ben for some time, completely silent, "What, that's it?"

"That's it!?" Ben echoed, "That is the KEY to coexistence. Because at the end of the day we're all here on this mudball together, whether we like it or not. So we may as well party and have a good time. Who cares who it's with? (As long as it isn't kids, you degenerate fucks.)" Ben shook his head as he put his guitar down and walked to the closet and grabbed a keyboard, "It's fine if it isn't your cup of tea, but no reason to judge something if you don't fully understand." Ben began hitting a few keys before he began singing, "_I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things / We can do the tango just for two / I can serenade and gently play on your heart strings / Be your Valentino just for you_

"_Ooh love ooh loverboy / What're you doin' tonight, hey boy / Set my alarm, turn on my charm / That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy_." he sang Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by Queen. "If you don't get the joke, Freddie was a flaming homosexual, and god do I love him."

"Idiots." Kokoa said quietly as she had blood running down her nose as she read an 18-plus Boys Love manga titled 'First Time'. "Don't be mistaken, FanFan is the only son of the boss of the Won family." Ben quickly snatched the manga out of Kokoa's hands and bonked her head with it, "Ow, what the hell!?" she complained.

"It says 18-plus. You're fifteen, you can wait." Ben scolded.

Ruby cocked her head to the side and cupped her chin, "Won Family?" she asked.

"Hm?" Tsukune asked, "Do you know about them, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded, "Yes. Among the Chinese Yokai they run the largest operations of the Chinese mafia." _Sounds like a swell guy. _Ben thought. Ruby shook her head, 'I never thought someone that important was a first year."

Ben folded his arms in thought, "Son of a Mafia Boss, huh?" he said before groaning, "Man, this bites dust. I'm not a big fan that we now have the mafia trying to breathe down our necks."

Tsukune shook his head in disbelief, "Why the hell does he want to recruit me, though?" Tsukune questioned, "There's plenty of other guys around. So why--"

"It's because you're strong." the group turned to the doorway to see FanFan standing in the doorway with a smile on his face.

Ben blinked a few times as he got his first look at FanFan, "Wait...what the fuck? Dude, you didn't say he was a femboy."

"So?" Tsukune said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Dude, he's hot, I wasn't prepared!"

**_I can't tell if he's joking or being serious._**

FanFan laughed as he stepped into the room, "Yes, your name is becoming well known in the underworld, Tsukune. You recently beat up that Yakuza organization in the human world, correct?" Tsukune cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "Then you took down that mercenary. Killed a member of Fairy Tail and even destroyed a hideout with everyone inside!"

Tsukune looked back at his friends with a confused expression. "Uh...team huddle, real quick." The teens got into a huddle to discuss what they heard, "Hey...so we totally didn't do that last part, right?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was Gin." Ben nodded, "Except the killing part...I'm 99% sure that was Elsa, the monster hunter." The group turned back to FanFan after the quick huddle, "Yeah...uh...none of those were Tsukune."

FanFan blinked in confusion, "What do you mean? Who could they have been? The Yakuza--"

"Was Ben." Kokoa stated with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. "Tsukune wasn't anywhere near those guys."

FanFan laughed, "Surely the mercenary--"

"No, that was also Ben. But Tsukune did jump in to help at first, but the mercenary was way out of his league." Yukari stated matter-of-factly.

"We didn't kill the Fairy Tail member either." Ben continued, "That was Taskmaster. And the hideout was Gin...Eeeeexcept the killing part, pretty sure that was Elsa Bloodstone, the monster hunter."

FanFan shook his head, "No, no. Impossible. All my intel tells me that Benjamin Reilly is a meta-human. He's the American vigilante known as Spider-Man. He's not even the original at that. From what I've been told...he's just a clone. A shadow of the genuine article." FanFan waved off, "It'd be impossible for him to perform those tasks." Ben squinted his eyes in frustration and wanted to give the femboy a piece of his mind, but decided to bite his tongue. "Yes, a monster with as much caliber as the Taskmaster surely couldn't be defeated by a mere human, it'd have to be someone ridiculously strong. And all that leads to Tsukune!"

**_Wait, isn't Taskmaster human?_** 'Inner' Moka asked.

"_Yes._" Ben replied, "_This guy is just a dipshit, apparently._"

"I only entered this academy so I could find strong individuals such as yourself! Tsukune, won't you join my family?" FanFan asked. Tsukune's eyes widened in surprise, join the mafia? That'd be crazy.

Kurumu scoffed and placed herself between Tsukune and FanFan, "Is that all you want?" Kurumu looked FanFan up and down and frowned, "If that's the case then forget it. Tsukune isn't gonna join the mafia because of your selfish request." the other teens cheered in agreement.

FanFan recoiled slightly in shock at the group's willingness to support Tsukune. "What the-? Don't get in my way! Just what the hell are you girls to him anyways?"

"We're his friends!" Moka said quickly.

"Lover..." Kurumu stated.

"Wife..." Mizore mumbled.

"CONCUBINE!" Yukari shouted excitedly gleefully.

"Toy." Ruby said with a heavy blush.

Ben looked at the girls with utter disgust, "What the fuck is wrong with all of you?"

FanFan was practically blown away in shock, "J-Just as expected as the man I want. He's merely a high school student and he already has things from concubines to toys!" FanFan nodded before laughing, "Fufufu...But it'd be troublesome for you to forget. In the mafia world it doesn't matter how many women there are and what complaints they make. It's just like polygamy!" he said with a snap of his finger, "No matter how many wives you have collected the Won family will be obligated to take care of them all! Now will you still say you won't be my friend, Tsukune!?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsukune asked, "I don't want something like that! I can guarantee the others don't either."

"Wait, we could do that?" Kurumu asked as her, Ruby, Yukari and Mizore huddled together.

"I could try polygamy, I guess." Mizore nodded.

"GUYS!" Tsukune and Ben yelled in unison. "Anyways," Tsukune began again, making an 'X' with his arms, "I'm gonna have to decline. I don't like the mafia. Or criminals in general."

"Yeah, fuck the mafia." Ben nodded.

FanFan growled in frustration and he pulled out some sort of seal with Chinese script written on it from his coat sleeve, "Then fight me, Tsukune! If I win then you have to join the Won family."

"WHAT?" Ben and Tsukune asked in unison, "Don't just decide for me!" Tsukune complained.

"Sh-Shut up!" FanFan yelled, "A duel is how men solve fights. So the winner is right!" FanFan had, what seemed like coins slide down his sleeve and into the palm of his hand. He began saying something in Chinese as he placed his hands together before pulling them apart making a sword out of coins, a purple aura emanating around it.

"Woah, wait, a coin sword?" Yukari asked, "That means he's a summoner!"

FanFan chuckled as something on his forehead began to glow, "I must admit that Tsukune is strong. However, I am the son of a mafia boss. My power allows me to summon friendly monsters to my side. Although I can't choose what I can summon, so there are some flaws." _That's pretty depressing._ Ben thought. FanFan opened his eyes and Ben saw the glowing thing on his forehead turned into a third eye, "I am a yasha, I am in command of a hundred other monsters! Now let us fight!" Suddenly, behind FanFan, a serpent dragon appeared and it's eyes were set on Tsukune.

"Hey Tsukune." Ben started, "Run." Not wanting to argue Tsukune made a mad dash out the door of the clubroom.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" FanFan shouted as he launched the serpent after Tsukune. Ben was quick intercept the creature and smack it's nose causing it to hiss. "Out of my way, loser!" The serpent attacked Ben, but he was quick to slide to the side to dodge. Ben set his feet and got ready for the next attack. When the serpent attacked again Ben sent a right uppercut to its jaw before sending a descending left hook to the top of its head, knocking it out instantly. "WHAT!? That's impossible!"

Ben stared down FanFan as the mafia boy stared back in utter shock, "You better get running Astolfo, before you get hurt." FanFan then quickly ran out of the club room after Tsukune, as he left the serpent he summoned disappeared as he summoned another monster, thankfully it was also something with wings that allowed him to pursue Tsukune again, "Oh..." Ben groaned, "I didn't think he could summon so quickly." Ben sighed and turned to the girls, "Well, let's go--" Ben stood with his mouth agape as Mizore, Kurumu and Ruby had started a 'Tsukune for Polygamy' party. Yukari was strangely absent leaving just Kokoa who had retrieved the BL manga during the commotion and Moka who looked just as bewildered and disappointed as Ben was. "You know," Ben sighed, "Sometimes I wish women would fawn over me like you girls do to Tsukune...then I look at you all and realize that you're all fucking stupid. Uh...no offense."

"No...given the situation, that's fair." Moka sighed.

Ben chuckled and pat his back, "Come on. Let's go find Tsukune."

* * *

_Shit, shit, shit!_ Tsukune yelled internally as he ran through the school and out the front entrance to the entrance courtyard while FanFan was hot on his tail using a (thankfully) weaker bird-like monster. "Don't run, fight me!" FanFan yelled out from his bird, "Don't be stupid! What exactly is it do you want, anyway!? You won't be able to have your harem while living and honest and respectful life in the human world! Are you planning to abandon those girls to uncertainty once that time comes!?" Tsukune's eyes widened in surprise, it was almost as if FanFan was making everything make sense. The reason he had that dream, why he was worried about the future. He was afraid of what would happen to the girls if he chose one over the other.

FanFan was almost right on top of Tsukune and smiled as he felt his victory was imminent. Just before FanFan could stop Tsukune he was attacked by a barrage of tarot cards. "Dammit, tarot cards?" he asked. Before he knew it one of the cards cut through the seal he used to summon the monster, "Damn!"

"The rule is, if the seal is destroyed then the monster that's summoned by that seal will be banished. Correct?" Yukari smiled as she waved her wand in the air. "TSUKUNE, NOWS YOUR CHANCE!" she shouted.

FanFan groaned in annoyance, "Damn you, I'll show you I'm not done!" he pulled out a new seal and summoned out the monster but it was merely a little chick. "Oh come on." he complained, "Not that it matters...they've already run off.

* * *

Tsukune and Yukari were able to run away and hide out just inside the front entrance by the lockers. "We should be safe for now." Yukari said, both teens breathing heavily after the running. Tsukune stayed silent the whole time, still thinking about what FanFan had said to him. "I guess he must have hit the nail on the head, huh?" Yukari asked. "Well, he has a point, you'll eventually have to choose someone and then you'll have to be separated from everyone else." _Have to? _Tsukune thought. "When that happens it's likely that all our friends from the Newspaper club will be split up. It'll likely be impossible for everyone to continue being friends. That is the most 'correct' future. So you've prepared yourself for that eventuality, correct?" Yukari nodded to herself and Tsukune again still stayed silent. Yukari then smirked and waved her wand around, "Okay, I'm gonna make you look stupid." Tsukune cocked an eyebrow in confusion but understood what Yukari meant when he was hit over the head by a washtub.

"AUGH...What the hell was that for!?" Tsukune complained as he rubbed his head in pain.

"I mean, it's so troublesome choosing a single wife. And well, I obviously don't want to be dumped either!" she chuckled, "So wouldn't it be more interesting to try your hand at polygamy?"

"Traitor! You're a traitor, Yukari!" Tsukune yelled out still trying to relieve his pain.

"WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT 'COREECT' FUTURES! If you're a true man then you should try and WOO EVERY WOMAN AND MAKE THEM HAPPY!!!" she yelled out before gaining an almost maniacal expression, "Hehehe, so to do that how about you join the mafia that way you can share a single bed with all of us!"

"Scary, you're being scary, Yukari!"

* * *

Ben had jumped out the window with Moka on his back. As he fell he performed a few flips before holding his arm out and firing a webline, attaching it to the building and swinging off. Moka had her eyes closed tight when they initially fell and gripped tight around Ben's neck, but when she felt everything level out she opened her eyes again to see they were high in the air moving past windows and students. "Wow." Moka muttered, "It's almost like we're flying!"

"Yeah, it's really nice." Ben replied, "Okay, get ready to get some air!" Ben shot another webline and swung himself high in the air above the school, "So, what do you see? Because I can't find them far, or wide." Ben said as he searched around the school grounds.

"I see FanFan!" Moka shouted, "Down there!"

"OH! Good eyes, Moka!" Ben let them fall for a few meters before holding his arms up and making a web parachute.

**_Are those new web shooters?_** 'Inner' Moka asked.

"Oh yeah, that's why I gave my other ones to Kokoa." Ben chuckled, "By the way, do you still have the old ones I gave you?"

"Yes, they're in our dorm."

"Oh, cool. If you ever want to learn how to use them, just ask. But uh...don't go trying to swing right away, you may tear your arm out of your socket." Landing the two silently approached FanFan who was on his knees in front of a chicken looking creature. He seemed to be upset based on his body language, and him slamming the ground with his fist.

"Dammit, my power still isn't enough to summon powerful monsters in succession." FanFan whined, "I won't be able to win...but I need strong friends. To achieve the family's wish we need strong friends like Tsukune. That's why we need to win! First we need to defeat Tsukune by force!" _Why is my Spider Sense going off?_ Ben thought.

"Interesting...I shall grant this wish." a voice called out causing FanFan to look up at the small chick in surprise. Before FanFan knew it the chick ate the seal that he needs in order to control it.

Ben and Moka walked up to FanFan with similar expressions, "Yo, did that chick just talk?" they asked in unison. the chick's eyes began to glow and a bright light shone. "Hey, let's run?" Ben asked, receiving a nod from Moka and FanFan.

* * *

"I've got you now!" Yukari shouted as she threw a rope around Tsukune's neck and wrangled him like he was cattle. "Come on! Accept your imprisonment already!"

"Yu...kari..." Tsukune said as he tried to prevent himself from getting choked by the rope. "Hold on...what is that?" he asked pointing to the far side of the building from where they stood. Yukari turned and both her and Tsukune saw three figures running towards them. "Is...Is that FanFan, Ben and Moka?" Tsukune asked.

"RUUUUUUN!" Ben shouted out, "Tsukune, go, GO!"

Tsukune cocked his eyebrow in confusion, "What is he--" Tsukune stopped himself as he saw something fly up above the school, it was red, on fire and BIG. "What the hell is that!?"

"Big bird! REALLY Big Bird!" Ben shouted as the trio ran past them. Tsukune and Yukari, not wanting to get caught by the flaming creature, ran with them.

"**Tsukune?**" the bird called out.

"Did that bird just talk!?" Tsukune asked.

"**So you are my target...I cannot wait to kill you!**"

"K-Kill me? WHY!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" FanFan asked with a smile, "He's a monster I summoned. So of course he'd be after you!" Tsukune groaned in annoyance as they ran, "He's a phoenix. A creature strong enough to even blow away mountains. I somehow summoned a baby chick and it evolved into this."

"THEN SEND IT BACK!" Tsukune shouted.

"Well," FanFan chuckled, "Funny story. It sorta...ate the charm I need to control it. Sooooo...I'm likely to get killed too. But hey, seeing as we're both in the same boat it seems to be fate that you'd end up joining me."

"NOT THE TIME!" Tsukune and Ben shouted.

"**You're so irritating. Just DIIIIIE!!**" the phoenix began to dive forward ready to kill anything in its path. Tsukune looked back and gulped. _Oh shit. If that thing gets to us...it'll destroy us all!_ Tsukune looked to his friends and FanFan and made up his mind. Stopping in his tracks and pivoting on his foot Tsukune faced the phoenix head on. The phoenix crashed into the ground and there was a massive explosion. When the dust cleared it was revealed that the phoenix didn't hit the ground, but that he was caught by Tsukune.

"Wait...what?" FanFan asked in surprise. Ben cheered internally, thankful that Tsukune didn't just blow up. "H-How? How could he stop it!? I mean, he just took that attack head on. He grabbed the mighty phoenix!"

"TSUKUNE!" Moka shouted as she rushed to his side, ignoring Ben who tried to stop her.

"Moka...don't come closer." Tsukune struggled to say as he held the phoenix back, "It's too dangerous."

"No!" Moka shouted, shaking her head as helped Tsukune lift up the bird by its beak, "I don't want you to lose. If you lose then you'll have no choice but to join the mafia. And I don't want that to happen! I don't want you to join the mafia because...well...because...I just don't think you should be involved in polygamy!!" **_Time and place! And this isn't it, mor_****_on!_**

"Moka, this really isn't the time for that!" Tsukune yelled out.

"**You...just how long do you plan on insulting me?**" the phoenix asked as its body began heating up. Ben's Spider Sense blared and he rushed over to Tsukune and Moka. "**UNFORGIVABLE!**" the bird shouted out as it superheated and made an explosion with its body. Tsukune had closed his eyes due to the bright light, but when he opened them he saw both he and Moka were fine, with Moka now in her transformed state and two red arms around their shoulders.

"Holy shit, that thing's hot, huh?" Ben said as he wiped his brow. Tsukune turned to Ben and his eyes widened in astonishment at what he saw. Ben was in a new suit, it looked like it was metallic in some way, like his Spider Armor but sleeker and technologically advanced. His suit retained the classic red and blue look, but the red parts were like a cherry red and the blue was dark and diluted like a navy blue. At his chest there was a large spider the same color of the blue parts of his suit. The legs spread along his torso and reached to his back. The spider, in order to distinguish itself from the other blue sections was outlined in gold. Tsukune then finally noticed the golden web shooters and other gold accents on Ben's legs by his boots. Ben's mask then retracted, not like he took it off, but like it was liquid and it seeped into the rest of his suit.

"Ben...what the fuck is--"

"Like it?" Ben asked with a smile, "It's my new suit."

"New suit? Ben, this looks nothing like the Spider Armor. It's sleek. And looks malleable. And how did your mask do that thing?"

"Nano-tech, Tsukune. And this isn't Spider Armor. This here is the Iron Spider Mk. II." he said excitedly, "It's based off one of Iron Man's more recent suits. Buuut there are still some bugs to work out." he groaned, "Like, it's a little stiff in the groin area, and the web shooter doesn't have all the settings programmed in yet. I can't even use impact webbing for Christ sake! I can only use, web balls/bullets, weblines and..." he groaned, "Split Web."

Moka and Tsukune looked at each other with a confused expression, "What the hell is 'split web'?" Moka asked. Ben groaned and held his hand out. He fired his web but instead of going straight it was like two weblines fired in front of him creating a 60 degree cone. "Wow...that's useless."

"I know." Ben said as he hung his head. His mask covered his face again and he clapped his hands together, "Okay! I have a plan." Ben looked up to the bird who's beak was stuck in the ground, "Uh, one minute please, Phoenix Wright." Ben got the other two in a small huddle, "Okay...so, Tsukune you'll go left. Moka, you go right. I'll go center. Now, we're gonna make sure this thing focuses on me so don't attack too early, okay Moka?"

"Wha--Me?" she asked.

"Exactly. We understand the plan?" Moka and Tsukune nodded, "Great. Break on three. One, two, three, BREAK!" Ben clapped and looked at the other two who didn't follow suit, "G-Guys...you're supposed to clap when I say 'break.'" he sighed, "Whatever, we'll work on it." Ben walked towards the phoenix as it set itself free from it's earthy prison, "HEY! Big Bird! You may be hot, but you're ugly as sin!"

"**Who dares challenge me?**" the pheonix asked as he looked down on Ben.

Ben pointed his thumb to himself proudly, "I do! The name's Spider-Man and I've come to put out your light!"

"**FOOLISH!**" the phoenix roared, "**No human can defend against a phoenix. Now BUUUUUURN!**" the phoenix stretched its neck forward and opened its mouth sending out a huge blast of flames that completely engulfed Ben. Ben's friends, and FanFan gasped in surprise. When the flames subsided Ben stood with his hand in front of his eyes completely unfazed. "**Impossible!**" the phoenix yelled out.

"Woo!" Ben yelled as he moved his arms and legs, "Talk about a heat wave. Thanks for letting me test my heat resistance. Oh, and thanks for being distracted like a dumbass. Do me a favor, and FLOCK OFF FEATHERFACE!"

At that moment both Tsukune and Moka dashed forward. Tsukune was first to attack, throwing a massive uppercut at the phoenix's beak, "KNOW..."

Moka jumped up and sent a high kick and launched the bird higher in the air, "YOUR..."

Once the bird was at its peak it was met by Ben who flexed forward causing four golden metallic spider legs to pop out his back, using them to his advantage, Ben used his spider legs to grip the bird's neck as well as webbing. "PLACE!!!" Ben shouted as he used his momentum and strength to spin the phoenix while in the air before landing a massive RKO. When the dust settled Ben used his spider legs to prop him back up to his feet before retracting them back into the suit. "Stupid bird. Stick to crackers next time, okay Polley?"

Moka stood and nodded approvingly as Ben rolled his shoulders. "Well Tsukune, I'd say it's an improvement." she sighed, "But you've still got a ways to go. I mean, the phoenix was a mere newborn. This level of opponent you should be able to handle without calling for my assistance."

"Sorry, my bad." Ben apologized, "I...may have jumped the gun a little." he said as his mask retracted. Moka chuckled and flicked his forehead. "Ow!"

FanFan stared at the trio in pure astonishment, "Amazing." he said with a smile, "To think you beat the phoenix. It's just too amazing!"

Tsukune smiled and dusted off his blazer, "See FanFan? Do you understand now?" he asked, "There are all sorts of strong people in this world. Both monster...and human. If you want to make friends there are plenty of people stronger than I am."

FanFan nodded, "But if that amazing woman works for you then you must be even stronger, right!?" he asked practically causing the teens to fall over in disbelief. "Yes, yes, and even Mr. Clone himself handled himself well! Who knows how deep this goes. Why, could it be that this woman is Tsukune's wife? What does that make the clone?" FanFan gasped, "Perhaps HE'S the concubine!"

Both Ben and Moka frowned, "My name...ISN'T 'clone'." Ben seethed as he grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Can I shut him up now?" Moka asked.

"Please do," Ben replied, "But hold him down so I can pummel his femboy face."

"Oh Tsukune, you're truly more amazing then I ever imagined!" FanFan exclaimed as he held Tsukune's hands between his own, "It truly is fate that we should be partners. Join me!"

"No way! We won, I don't have to do shit!" Tsukune shot back.

"Awe, but why not?" Tsukune jumped in surprise. Looking behind him he saw Kurumu, Mizore and Ruby all dressed up in traditional Chinese dresses. "It's already gone this far. Can't you just join the mafia?" Kurumu asked.

"What the hell are you girls doing?" Ben asked.

"Polygamy!" they yelled in unison. The girls all began to cling onto Tsukune.

"Oh please. Don't get so cocky." Moka said in a frustrated tone, causing the girls to stop. "Acting so slutty. 'Polygamy'." she spat, "I won't allow it. Treating women like objects, using them like some sort of daily bento. I definitely won't allow it, Tsukune. Especially for her sake."

Kurumu scoffed as she turned to face the vampire, "What's with you?" she asked, "Who Tsukune chooses to be with has nothing to do with you 'Inner' Moka!" Kurumu then looked at Moka with a smug smile, "Or...could it be that you are jealous? Perhaps you'll say something like, 'oh, only I can be Tsukune's wife.' Hahahaha." Kurumu laughed. Moka stared at the succubus, she was not laughing, in fact she had a slight blush on her face. **_Oh relax,_** 'Outer' Moka said, **_she's just teasing you._** Moka looked to Ben who, again, was scolding Kokoa for reading porn.

"Hey Ben," Moka called out.

Ben turned to Moka with a curious expression, "Hm? What's up?"

"I still have to give you a response, don't I?" Moka asked. Ben began looking back and forth with a very confused expression. Moka rolled her eyes and pulled Ben by her side, "The answer is 'yes,' dumbass. Now listen up," she called out, "I am not Tsukune's wife, and I don't care. That's for my other to deal with. You know why?" her face red Moka turned to Ben and gripped his chin before bringing him forward and locking lips. The teens' mouths all dropped at the sight, Kokoa even seemed to be paralyzed with shock.

Ben's eyes widened in shock, but while he seemed to keep his cool on the outside, the inside was a different story.

**Music Queue: George Frideric Handel Messiah (Trap Remix)--Sovereign Beats**

Fireworks went off in his head, airhorns played, the pearly gates seemed to open up with the angels congratulating him. Moka then pulled herself away and stared at FanFan, "Because I don't like Tsukune. I much prefer this one." she smiled, "Oh, and his name is Ben, not 'clone,' dickhead." she looked to Ben who still wore an expression of disbelief, "Hey Ben?" she asked.

"_Yeah?_" Ben replied, so dumbfounded by what happened he had reverted back to English.

"Cool suit." Moka smiled before walking off, "Oh...and that's my response by the way."

"_Yeah._" Ben replied. It wasn't until Moka finally left the group's sight that Ben snapped out of it...sort of. Ben walked over to the building and slammed his head against the brick wall causing a crater in the brick and blood to trickle down his head. "No. No, I'm not dreaming." he nodded, "Am I dying?" Ben asked receiving confused heads shaking, "So you mean...after all the shit I've endured, after everything that's happened...I GET A WIN!? FUCK YEAH! WOOOOO!!!"

Kokoa finally snapped out of her stupor and she spoke the only words that came to mind: "What. The. Fuck."

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: I know I said I was gonna take a break and do the other story, but all my motivation brought me back to this one. Plus I realized I had some stuff to reveal and the next chapter is like a slice of life chapter anyway. Not only that but I have other...future plans, that require me to get a little farther in this story first.**

**Fun Fact: If you couldn't tell, Ben has the MCU Iron Spider suit.**

**Anyways, OH MY GOD! Isn't this crazy? Who would have thought this would've happened? What could this mean going forward? Well, you'll have to wait and see.**


	21. A Sports Festival

**CRUDEN: LMAO, it's fine. I personally like MCU Iron Spider because it's just a metallic version of Ben Reilly's Spider-Man suit.**

* * *

**A Sports Festival**

* * *

It had been nearly a week since the teens met the son of the Chinese crime family, FanFan Won. Despite losing, FanFan had become relentless, especially since he seemed convinced that Tsukune was the ring leader of the group and everyone else, including Ben, were his underlings. As for Ben, though he was able to get a response from Moka, he hadn't been able to try and spend time with her because...well, he didn't want to release her and have her get mad for waking her up over a "pointless reason." Sure, he could always pose it as a sparring match, but he wasn't sure if he was physically ready to fight her again, mainly because he wasn't sure how strong the Iron Spider suit was and he didn't want to accidently destroy it right away like a dumbass. Despite that, it didn't stop Dreamqueen from incessantly teasing the young vigilante to no end, even offering to "take a hike" for a few hours if they decided to do "that."

Ben slammed his head against the desk in the Newspaper club as he thought about what Dreamqueen had told him. He tried to drown out everything by playing music, not through his headphones, but through a speaker. Did the club care? Probably, but they've just come to accept it at this point. Currently he was playing "Basket Case." _Dammit__. Now I'm gonna be all self-conscious about that sort of thing._ "_God damm succubus._" he groaned out loud on accident. Kokoa glanced at Ben and then to Kurumu with a confused expression.

"_Kurumu isn't doing anything, dumbass._" Kokoa replied with a scoff.

Ben groaned and turned the music up louder as the track switched to "Circles" by Post Malone. _Just vibe it out Ben_. he told himself, _Close your eyes, let Posty take you to the sunny shores of Cali. _As Ben tried to close his eyes he glanced out the window to see a figure that seemed to be floating, staring at them. "_What the fuck?_" he asked as he brought Kokoa to him. The two squinted their eyes and groaned, "_Oh, it's him._" they said in unison. "_Okay Kokoa, time spring the trap._"

"_Okay, do you mean the guy or the plan?_" she asked.

"_Just go get the glue __balloon._" Ben chuckled.

* * *

FanFan stood atop a flying, insectoid type monster he summoned just outside the windows of the Newspaper club. "Ah, there he is!" FanFan said excitedly as he saw Tsukune diligently doing his work for the club, "Yes, Tsukune is giving his best in club activities again today. Even so," FanFan gripped his chin in thought, "Tsukune is meant to be super strong. Yet his everyday life isn't much different than a normal person's." he smiled, "That's perfect! Now, how should I convince him to join me today?" before FanFan could answer his own question he was hit in the fave by a balloon that exploded and all over his face was a sticky white liquid.

"YEAH, MONEY SHOT!" Kokoa shouted causing Ben to smack the back of her head, a smile on his face.

"I'm proud of you but...don't say that." Ben chuckled. Wiping the glue from his eyes, FanFan saw that one of the windows in the Newspaper club had opened up. Just at the entrance was a makeshift slingshot was made out of two chairs (one set normally, the other set on top of that one with its legs in the air) webbed together, with a makeshift crosshair made using a cut paper plate and some pencils. The actual slingshot part of the slingshot was made of webbing.

FanFan huffed, a slight blush on his face from the humiliation, "How dare you! You try and get in my way again, I'll--AUGH!!" FanFan didn't get a chance to finish as he felt something hard fly into the back of his head. The blow was so massive and so sudden that FanFan fell from his monster companion and crashed into the tree below before bouncing off a branch and landing head first on a rock. Kokoa and Ben stared wide eyed at FanFan's body. Eventually the summoner groaned and began getting to his feet again. The master and student breathed a sigh of relief before closing the window and getting rid of the evidence. FanFan rubbed his head as some girls in gym uniforms ran past him.

"Oh my goooood~ The hammer just totally flew out of my hands." one of the girls said as she.

"You're, like, such a klutz, Saki." her friend laughed, "Like, maybe you should grip it like it's your boyfriend's co--"

"Shut up, Tabii!" the other girl yelled, smacking her friend's shoulder, "He's totes no my boyfriend!" the two paused and stared at each other, "He's like, my client. LOL!" the two girls began laughing together and FanFan felt like he was going to throw up, whether it be from the glue on his face, or the way these women articulated themselves, he didn't know. Finally getting to his feet, FanFan saw what the girls were working on. It was a sign, _Sports Festival?_

* * *

**The Next Day...**

Fireworks went off in the sky above the academy as the teachers and students got ready for the Sports Festival. It kinda looked like a late summer festival with stalls for food, some music playing and spirits seemed high. Ms. Nekonome got in front of the ground and stood on a small stage as she gave the opening "speech" to the students and guests. "Gooooooooood MORNING EVERYBODY!" she yelled out, seeming more chipper than usual, "As you all know, Autumn is for reading! It also seems to be when people mysteriously gain weight." she muttered hoping to gain a laugh from the audience, but instead gained a collective groan from teenage girls who felt that line hit a little too close to home, "Ooh, tough crowd." she mumbled before clearing her throat, "Anyway, Autumn is also the time for sports! Now that beautiful season has come to our school." she smiled, "So without further ado, let's start the 9th Yokai Academy athletics carnival!" she cheered as she jumped up in the air with glee, nearly falling off the platform.

"You think anyone told her her nipples were about to stab through her shirt?" Kurumu asked as she stretched her legs, getting ready for the day.

"Oh thank god, someone said it." Ben laughed. The teens were all dressed up in their athletic wear. First were Yukari and Moka who wore white polos with red accents at the sleeves. They also wore maroon bloomers. Yukari wore knee high white socks while Moka wore black. Then there was Kurumu who wore a white t-shirt with red accents around the sleeves and collar. She also wore maroon bloomers and her traditional 80's looking leg warmers. Tsukune wore a white polo just like Moka and Yukari and had on black shorts. Ben wore a white t-shirt...or at least it WAS until he ripped off the sleeves and ripped down the sides, making a bro tank. He also wore black shorts but disliked how long they were so he rolled the top over until the legs of his shorts were just above his knee. "Seriously, she has to be doing that on purpose. She's like, what? 47 and single? Maybe she's just getting desperate?"

Kurumu sighed, "This is kinda lame. I mean, since becoming second years who cares about sports festivals. I mean, who cares, right?"

"Don't say that!" Yukari scolded, "It'll all be over if you say that!"

Moka nodded, "That's right. And think of all the people that are coming out."

"But do try and be careful," Mizore warned, seemingly out of nowhere with a group of men frozen beside her, "there's a bunch of pervs. Just now these parents kept snapping photos, they wouldn't stop so I froze them." Mizore's outfit was the most drastically different from the girl's, and the closest to what she normally wore. She wore her typical black tank top undershirt with a loose long sleeve white shirt. She also wore her maroon bloomers and even her belt which went from the right side of her waist and slanted so it rested just below her left hip. She also wore her thigh pouch on her left leg and wore her signature purple and violet striped socks.

"God you girls look great in those clothes." Ben mentioned, not realizing he said that out loud. The girls all glanced at him and he immediately snapped to attention, "Uh...what? Do I not get one free pass?" he chuckled nervously. "Anyway...uh, sure are a lot of shady looking people though. And I don't just mean the usual suspects either. Some of these parents look creepy as hell."

'Ah," Yukari snapped her fingers and brought out a blackboard with a diagram of different monsters on it, "See, those are just 'pervert yokai.' They probably came to see us girls in our bloomers. It's because they are extremely endangered species in the human world, so they figure they can just take advantage of younger women." Yukari explained in an...unsettling cheery manner. She then sighed, "In case you couldn't tell, I hate these athletics festivals. It's just an excuse for guys to star at girls in these small bloomers."

"This is such a stark contrast to American society." Ben mentioned, "In the states women willingly wear things that are small like your bloomers, or super skin tight like yoga pants. And it isn't just for exercising, but just going out too. It's a weird culture shift for me."

"Come on guys," Tsukune said with a cheery expression, "Athletics festivals aren't that bad. So let's do our best, yeah?" he said with a fist pump and bright smile, "After all, athletic festivals are for sports, sports means peace and peace means coexistence, right?!" he smiled and nodded before raising his arms to the sky, "LOVE AND PEACE!"

The girls looked at Tsukune with questioning glances, "Um...what's with Tsukune?" Kurumu asked.

"Yeah, 'love and peace'? In sports? Clearly this guy hasn't seen when the Mets and Yankees play each other." Ben joked. "Right, Moka?" he asked but the vampire seemed to be in her own little world. _Peace, huh?_ Moka thought as she stared at Tsukune. _Right, I guess it's been a while since Tsukune could be so carefree. What with Fairy Tail attacking, training, and Ben almost dying...again, I guess he's just happy that he can finally have some form of relaxation. _she smiled before she clasped her hands to her face as she gained a light blush, _Truth is...I even made a lunch box for the two of us!_ she smiled. While she was lost in her world, Ben had placed his face next to hers so he could see what she was staring off at, sure enough, it was definitely Tsukune. Ben chuckled and flicked his friend in the forehead to get her to snap back to reality, "You can't exactly spend time with him if you don't talk to him." Ben whispered before shoving Moka towards Tsukune.

Moka looked back to Ben and then to Tsukune before nodding with determination, "You're right, Tsukune." Moka nodded, "I'll do my best too. So let's have a nice day together." she smiled. Just when it seemed Moka and Tsukune were going to share a sweet moment the other girls began bombarding the teen.

"I wanna too my best with you too, Tsukune!" Kurumu said as she rested Tsukune's head between her breasts.

"You can't take him that easily." Mizore said coldly as she tried to push Moka away while Yukari jumped on them like it was a dog pile.

Ben just stood back and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should have known." he said as he shook his head, "Maybe I just shouldn't be a wingman for anyone...ever. Because my bad luck follows them wherever." he thought a moment before chuckling, "Of course, the reason for Moka may be a little bit different."

"Nonsense!" the group stopped and looked up to see that FanFan had approached them wearing a nehru vest and black pants, his panda servant close by. "You're all too soft. Sports are supposed to be mighty battles to the death like the ancient Roman gladiators. Warriors revered for their time!"

"Roman gladiators were slaves, dude. Most forced to fight against their will, stolen from their homes. That isn't glorious, it's a death sentence." Ben groaned.

"Regardless," FanFan said, holding up his hand and practically pushing Ben out of the way, "it seems this is a blessing in disguise. Tsukune is on the red team, and I am on the white team. Therefore!" FanFan held his finger in the air and laughed, "This is a battle! A fantastic battle between warriors such as ourselves. If the white team wins, you'll join the Won family, right Tsukune!?" Tsukune and the others ignored FanFan and the girls went back to fighting amongst themselves, practically getting into a wrestling match. "What the hell!? Why are you ignoring me!?" he whined, "Why are you so mean to me! It's completely unfair!" FanFan tried to de-stress himself by petting his panda, but the creature ignored him and played around with a ball, "Et tu, panda?"

Kurumu looked up from hugging Tsukune and groaned, "God, shut the fuck up already. Why'd you even come by for FanFan? You're a guy, so quit clinging to Tsukune."

Ben groaned, "Guys, we went over this, it's fine to swing that way. If the rolls were reversed you'd be calling him a sexist."

"Shut up, Ben." Kurumu and Mizore replied in unison.

FanFan shook his head, "No! I must do whatever I can to get Tsukune to join the mafia." the mafia child smiled and rubbed his hands together, "But since it's the Athletics Carnival it's the perfect chance for our battle!" FanFan felt a sudden chill on his back and nearly jumped out of his skin when Mizore appeared behind him, "Wha--? How did you?"

"Anyways, aren't you missing the point?" Mizore asked as she held her ice claw up to FanFan's chin, "Battles are where both teams carry some sort of risk. If you want us to risk Tsukune, then you'd have to risk something of similar value. So tell me FanFan...are you giving us your life!?" she asked with an almost deranged look on her face. FanFan went to say something, but Ben pulled him and Mizore forward with a webline. As he did so there was a flash of light and an explosion occurred where the two were just standing. From the explosion there was a small crater where it looked like a meteorite landed, and from that small crater stood a somewhat tall figure.

"Jesus, do we have to deal with aliens too?" Ben asked half-sarcasrically, "I already have to deal with symbiotes back in New York, I'm not exactly looking forward to Kal-El." From the smoke a woman appeared. She had fair skin, a beautiful figure, pretty green eyes, long black hair tied in a ponytail covered by a cap, and a dark green dress. She also wore bells as earrings, a bell around her neck and a large pearl necklace. Around the bottom of her dress she had talismans that went all around. "OH! She's a Jiang Shi." Ben shouted out. The teens looked at him with a confused expression, "You know? A Chinese hopping zombie? They're pretty popular in Chinese folklore...Hsien-ko from Darkstalkers is one?" again, confused stares, "Seriously? You're all monsters and you've never played Darkstalkers?"

"You're a super hero, do you read super hero comics?" Mizore asked trying to act like she had a 'gotcha' on Ben.

"Y-Yes. Yeah, I do. Like all the time. Batman Beyond is like my favorite cartoon of all time. Spawn is one of my favorite hero comics." Ben shrugged his shoulders.

The woman stood and smiled as she dusted off her dress, "Oh my, how terribly disrespectful of me. See, it's just in my blood that I get excited when I hear about battles." she chuckled, "But I won't reflect over it for too long, after all, I'm already dead." Ben fist pumped in joy when he had the confirmation he was right. "Ah, hello little brother," she said as she pat FanFan on his head, "I've come to the Athletics Carnival to cheer you on."

"BIG SISTER!" FanFan yelled out with a large smile as he wrapped his arms around the woman and brought her in for a large hug, "I'm so glad I could see you."

"Wait, she's FanFan's big sister!?" the teens asked in unison.

"_Wow, femboy has a pretty hot older sister._" Ben nodded. He then blinked a few times before bursting into a chuckling fit, "_T__hough, since she's dead, she's actually pretty cold._"

The woman smiled sweetly and placed her hand to her chest, "I am Rinrin Won. No need to treat me like an elder. After all, I had died long ago."

"You said that already." the teens said in unison. "Incredible." Yukari said as she placed her hand to her chin, "Not only is she a moving corpse, but she has her own free will. A powerful sorcerer would have to have brought you back."

"Yes!" Rinrin said joyfully, "Zombies such as myself to have free will is almost unheard of." she laughed, "But I assure you I'm dead, after all, I can do this!" she then grabbed her head and pulled it off her shoulders causing the girls to scream in fear while Ben stood still, laughing. "Hm? And what's so funny?"

"Hahaha...I bet your boyfriend's have told you...that you give great head." Ben burst into a laughing fit, Yukari gained a wide grin, Kurumu let out a loud snort, Mizore kept her cool demeanor, Moka kept her mouth closed tight but she did take a couple deep breaths and Tsukune held his hand over his mouth to hide his chuckling. FanFan and Rinrin looked at each other (Rinrin's head still in her hands) they then looked at Ben and tilted their heads in confusion (again, Rinrin's head is in her hands). "B-Because you can take off your head. And 'head' is a double entandre for...nevermind." Ben sighed.

Rinrin attached her head and walked up to Ben, getting right up in his face. She began feeling Ben's arms and legs awing at his muscle. She then gripped his chin and began looking at his face. "So, you must be the American correct. FanFan mentioned you were stronger than you seemed, but clearly my brother wasn't looking at you in the right light. You look more than strong, especially for being a freak of science." she smiled. Instantly, almost as if it was natural instinct, Ben snapped his head forward and headbutted Rinrin's nose, breaking it instantly.

"Holy shit, Ben!" Tsukune yelled out.

Ben held his hands to his face and gasped, "Oh my God, that was a lapse of judgement I'm really...wait...no. No I'm not! Fuck you!"

Mizore grabbed Ben's arm and pulled him with the group, "Just ignore them, let's go. Nothing good will happen if we just stand here talking to them."

"Wait," Rinrin called out after she fixed her nose, "Do any of you want the chance to travel overseas?" she asked, causing the girls' ears to perk up. The girl teens turned back around in interest and Rinrin continued, "You said before, right? That we have nothing to bet on. Well, how about this: If we win today, then we get Tsukune." she chuckled, "However, if Red Team wins, the Won family will take all of you on a tour of China's gourmet and hot springs! How about it!? Still think this isn't a battle?"

The girls began to converse to themselves and it sounded as if they were considering the idea. "Hold on now," Tsukune interjected, "China is the Won family's home turf. We could get in trouble if we accidently do something we aren't supposed to, which makes that place extra scary. Tell them Ben!"

Ben rubbed his chin in thought, "I'm conflicted. On one hand, it's China, and I likely will get us in trouble whether it's on accident or on purpose. So my intelligence tells me 'no'. However, my patriotism and heritage tells me to do anything to beat these commies down and show 'em whose boss. That all being considered, if we decline, we don't risk Tsukune. But if we accept and win, then we get free food, get to go to hot springs, which means naked women. AND I get to put commies in their place?" Ben chuckled, "I say we do it. Let's kick their ass!"

"YEAH!" the girls and Ben all cheered out as they raised their fists in the air, "We totally accept your challenge." Kurumu declared, pointing at the zombie. Rinrin smiled, bowed and left with FanFan who was smiling and waving the whole time. "Alright guys, let's get out there and show those mobsters we aren't just some pushover teens!" Kurumu yelled out with her fist in the air.

"Damn right!" Ben agreed, "They won't know what hit 'em. We're gonna beat 'em so hard that Rinrin chick will think she died again!"

"Yeah!" the girls cheered.

"EXCELLENT!" Ben shouted out and he, and surprisingly Moka, held their hands in the air and played air guitar as a guitar riff played around them. Mizore looked up and began looking around as if she was searching for something.

"Uh...Moka?" Yukari asked, "What are you doing?"

Moka had an almost horrified face, "I-I-I don't know. It just happened, almost as if it was instinct."

"Dude, who cares what Moka is doing. Where the fuck did that music come from!?" Mizore shouted.

* * *

The main event of the festivities was beginning to get underway and the students, staff, and visitors began to bunch together on the track. Ben, Tsukune and the others were making their way to the front so that they could get a good view of the events. Inside one of the many set up sat the Headmaster with Ruby by his side dressed up in a bunny girl dress with nylon leggings and black high heels. _Hitting a lot of fetishes today. _Ben thought. Ruby tapped the microphone she was holding, "Is this thing on?" she called out over the speakers. She gained some whistles of approval, but it was fairly obvious they were focused on her looks and not what she had to say. "Alright, before we start the day proper, let's go over the main things parents and students can't do while in the carnival. First is the use of monster powers, the second is showing your true form. That last one should be obvious. If you break this rule you will be forced to leave the grounds. Thank you!" she said with a smile, "Now, first on the bracket is the girls 100M dash!"

"You know," Kurumu started as they watched the first group of girls take off on a mad dash, "It's great we accepted the battle and all that. But aren't the competitions team based?"

Mizore nodded, "Yeah, it doesn't really matter how well we do if the rest of our team doesn't pull their weight."

"I noticed that earlier." Tsukune whined.

Yukari chuckled, "Not to worry, Tsukune. Whether it be Majong or horse racing, I've never lost!" she said with a confident smile and a thumbs up.

"Don't all of those rely on luck!?"

"Hahaha." The teens turned around to see Rinrin sitting in a lawn chair fanning herself as well as FanFan relaxing on the back of his panda servant, "They aren't based on luck, Tsukune. Gambling requires knowledge, experience and calculation. It's a mental battle that requires all three." she smiled, "If you didn't know that, you really are an amateur. You cannot oppose me and win against me."

Tsukune and Ben looked to each other then back to the Chinese zombie, "You stole that from Kakegurui." they said in unison causing the zombies eyes to widen slightly, "That was totally a line in Kakegurui, the whole damn series is about gambling." Tsukune added.

"WHOOO! GO GET 'EM KOKOA!!" Ben shouted. The other teens turned to see Kokoa on the track getting ready for the race and they too began to cheer for her.

"What the fuck?" she asked herself, a slight blush on her face. "I-It's not like I feel happy with them cheering for me or anything." she in fact, was very happy and suddenly more eager than before. The runners got into their ready positions. Kokoa looked at her competition and figured she already had the race in the bag. Then, suddenly, another racer showed up to her left. The woman wore a black dress similar to Rinrin's and stood with her arms extended outward instead of getting down in a crouched stance like the other girls. _What the hell is this chick's problem?_ Kokoa thought. The starting gun went off and Kokoa took off as fast as she could, however so did that strange woman next to her, and she was jumping! _What the HELL!? _

"Wow, look at that!" Ruby exclaimed, "White Team lane 3 has a rocket start! And she's the only one using a jumping style!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Kokoa yelled out.

Rinrin watched and had a goofy smile on her face, letting out only slight laughter every now and then. The teens looked at Rinrin and then to the mysterious racer and realized it was just like her. "Why the hell is there a zombie running in the race? She's one of your friends, isn't she!" Tsukune, Kurumu and Yukari yelled in unison.

"I don't knoooooow~ Maybeeeee." Rinrin smiled.

"Despite all that, it looks like Kokoa is giving her all!" Ruby shouted. The teens watched with baited breath as Kokoa began to catch up, until the zombie suddenly tossed a small ball in front of Kokoa that blew up. "Agh! An unexpected bomb attack!" Ruby shouted again. Ruby groaned and held her hand over the microphone so the others couldn't hear her. She turned to the Headmaster and groaned, "Sir..."

The Headmaster nodded and leaned forward, bridging his hands together and resting his chin on them. "Yes, unfortunately that's the work of the Won family. Such a troublesome bunch." he sighed, "And I received multiple transferral notices the other day. Which means those zombies are already our students. So we can't forbid them from competing." he leaned back in his chair and groaned, scratching his chin in the process, "However, the bomb attack was interesting, so I'll allow it." he smiled with a thumbs up.

Ruby, slightly baffled by the Headmaster's reasoning, cleared her throat, "Um...after further discussion we have decided that no action shall be taken! The remaining events shall resume as planned!"

"Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit." Kokoa and Ben said in unison as Ben washed the ash and gunk off her face and Kokoa massaged her legs.

"Fufufu." Rinrin laughed, "As expected of the Headmaster, he's such an understanding man. I had some zombies excelling in taijutsu transfer in as students in advance. I said so before right? Luck isn't required in battles. We'll do anything we need to do in order to win. That is the way the Won family fights."

"In other words you cheat!" Kurumu complained, "What about those things you said earlier about the things you said earlier about mental battles!?"

As Kurumu was arguing with Rinrin; Moka, Tsukune, and Ben stared onto the track as they saw more explosions go off and more members of the White Team get points. "So much for a peaceful and bloodless Athletics Carnival." Tsukune groaned.

* * *

Several more events go by and the White Team was ahead. The current score was 187-76, White in the lead. "Man, to think that even with the events Ben excelled in we're still one hundred points behind." Tsukune groaned, "Well, at least Mizore and Kurumu are up next." Right now the Second Year Girls Obstacle Course was in progress with Kurumu and Mizore neck and neck with each other. The two continued running and started to catch up with the zombies that were on the White Team. _Damn, these guys are too fast. _Kurumu thought, _But, we have to at least win this one!_ "Oh no! Even Mizore and Kurumu may not make it!" Tsukune shouted in fear as he bit his finger nails to practically nubs while Rinrin smiled and continued fanning herself.

"Oh, I see the problem." a female voice said from behind Tsukune, "Sorry Tsukune, I need to borrow your shoulder for a bit." Tsukune felt something rest on his shoulder followed by a strong vibration as something fired and hit the vampires. The two undead creatures collapsed allowing Mizore and Kurumu to finish first.

"What the?" Ruby asked, "Uhhhh...it appears Mizore and Kurumu of the Red Team have finished first!"

"Looks like we'll be lending you our power, Tsukune." Tsukune turned around to see Mizore's mom, Tsurara, as well as Kurumu's mom, Ageha, and Yukari's mom, Fujiko. Rinrin stood up and stared at the mothers with a forced smile.

"Hey wait, that was just plain cheating!" FanFan yelled out.

Tsurara smiled and waved it off as if it was nothing, "Oh please, the bullets I fired were made of ice, so they don't cause any noticeable harm and melt right away." she laughed, "Besides, I say we are both cheaters today, aren't we? No sense denying it, after all we heard about everything you have done today from the Bus Driver." Rinrin could only smirk, "So, let the best cheater win?"

From that moment forward the mothers weren't holding anything back. Tsurara using her expert techniques shot down the zombies from afar with her sniper bullets, Ageha used her succubus charm to seduce the male zombies into not participating and Fujiko made voodoo dolls of the different zombies and prevented them from participating. FanFan and Rinrin sat and watched as their, basically army of zombies fell one and the Red Team came closer and closer to surpassing them. "Damn it!" FanFan growled.

"Don't worry, FanFan. This just means that the parent's event this afternoon is the true battle." FanFan turned to his sister to see her cocky attitude from earlier had diminished and she began to look more monstrous the more frustrated she became. Gray veins spreading through her body and her teeth becoming sharp. "Next time, I'll just have to personally compete." she grinned sinisterly.

Once most of the events were over it was then time for lunch. Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari all spent time with their mothers, having a nice picnic. Ben was more than allowed to join them for food according to Tsurara, but he was more partial to eating lunch with Kokoa. Ben and Kokoa sat up in a tree, Kokoa had a cup of noodles while Ben was eating a small cup of oatmeal and drinking a sports drink. "You know, my sister probably made you a lunch. You should have ate with her."

Ben nearly choked on his food, "No. She's with Tsukune right now, I guarantee the food made was for him." Ben took a drink of his sports drink and offered it to Kokoa. She decline but he practically forced it on her, "Drink it, you need to recover your electrolytes. Especially with all that salt you're inhaling." Kokoa chuckled slightly and took a drink from the bottle, "Dang, didn't even wipe the rim? That's like...an indirect kiss, ain't it?" Kokoa's face became extremely red and she nearly spit out the drink, causing Ben to burst out into laughter. "Relax, who cares? Anyways, we need to talk about our ultimate plan for the final event."

* * *

With Tsukune and Moka, the two had walked off, away from the track for quite a ways. "Well...uh...the Athletics Carnival has been pretty crazy, huh?" Tsukune asked Moka with a nervous chuckle. "But uh...thanks to everyone's mothers we're totally saved. Guess they were like our strongest helpers, huh?"

Moka blushed and fidgeted in place before bringing up a a box she had wrapped in cloth, "Actually, Tsukune...I was hoping I could be of some help too. So I prepared this earlier." Moka layed out a cloth and placed her box on it. She opened up the box to show all the food she had prepared earlier in the morning. Tsukune stared in awe at the assortment of food, and best of all there was enough for the two of them! "Your parents wouldn't be able to come cheer for you, right? Well, I thought this could help make up for it."

"Thank you!" Tsukune practically shouted out with joy, "This is perfect." Moka smiled and went to feed Tsukune the food she prepared, but before anything could happen a group of Won family zombies came hopping by and completely destroyed everything. The two didn't even get a chance to eat.

"Ah...the lunch I made." Moka said sadly as she looked at the food that was now spread out across the ground.

* * *

"Looks like the afternoon's highlight has started!" Ruby said excitedly as she pointed to the sky, "It's time for the Parent and Child mock calvary battle! It's a simple game where the parent and child ride piggyback and try to steal each others hats." she explained, "Of course, violence of any sort is prohibited. Furthermore, this is a bonus game where the points are multiplied based on the number of remaining participants. It's the perfect chance to show the other team whose boss!" As Ruby explained the rules of the game, Ben hopped on Kokoa's shoulders for the final round.

"I don't see...ugh...why I'm the legs here." Kokoa complained as Ben adjusted himself on her shoulders.

"Because my body has adhesive abilities, so the hat can't be stolen from me." Ben explained as he put on his top hat, "It's not cheating because they said no monster powers, and I'm not a monster sooooo..." Ben said with a shrug. Looking around Ben saw his friends sitting on the shoulders of their parents, and he saw the zombies on top of each other, he also noticed FanFan was carrying Rinrin on his shoulders, "Huh, I figured it'd be the other way around." Before Ben knew it the final competition started. Looking ahead he saw the Red Team and White Team going at it, hell, Kurumu even accidentally took off Rinrin's head when she reached for the hat. As the White Team began to push back the Red Team Kokoa began moving forward, "Wait, wait...what's that?" Ben asked pointing ahead.

Behind Rinrin, from seemingly out of nowhere, Moka appeared riding Tsukune, except it wasn't the Outer Moka. It was the Inner Moka, and Ben noticed that she looked pissed. "Your crimes...call for punishment." Moka warned, "I'll have you pay for those crimes with that body of yours!"

"_Fuck I wish that were me._" Ben said as he saw Moka's thighs against Tsukune's face.

Kokoa's eyes widened and she jerked her head back, nailing Ben in the junk, "_FOCUS YOU HORNDOG! Your dick is drilling a hole in the back of my skull!_"

"_Sorry_." Ben groaned out as he tried to catch his breath. Before they knew it, Moka had kicked Rinrin and FanFan to the ground, "OH! RIGHT THERE, KOKOA GO NOW!!" Kokoa dashed forward with great speed, allowing Ben to grab Rinrin's hat before it hit the ground.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!" Ruby shouted out, "Moka, you've transformed AND acted violently, you totally broke the rules!"

Moka tossed her hat and sighed, "Whatever. But I'm still pissed. Tsukune, hop to it, I have more skulls to crush."

"_Please crush mine with your thighs_." Ben mumbled.

"_DUDE! Seriously? Like a drill!!_" Kokoa complained. In a matter of minutes, the White Team and Red Team began actually fighting, arguing over who was cheating first. Taking advantage of the situation Kokoa and Ben rushed through the 'battlefield' and grabbed hats as they fell, making a giant tower.

"AND THAT'S THE GAME!" Ruby shouted causing parties from both teams to stop dead in their tracks, "And at the end of the day, with 576 points is...TEAM SCARLET with Ben Reilly and Kokoa Shuzen!!" she began clapping as small confetti cannons shot off.

"WHAT!?" Both teams shouted in unison, "Did we really just get cockblocked from our vacation by Ben and Kokoa?" Kurumu asked with a disappointed expression. Ben and Kokoa cheered as they approached their group.

"See guys? We keep Tsukune!" Ben said excitedly, but nobody seemed to have the same enthusiasm, "And, we stuck it to those commies. That's a massive win right?"

"Chinese gourmet and spa, Ben!" Kurumu shouted as she walked away in a huff.

"Way to drop the ball, dumbass." Mizore scolded as she caught up with Kurumu. Yukari then left and so did Tsukune, but he at least thanked Ben for saving him. Finally Kokoa left and it was just Ben and Moka.

"S-So..." Moka said as she rubbed the back of her head, "You wanna...get something to eat?"

"Oh thank God." Ben said with a smile, "I'm glad you're hungry, because I'm starving. How about we go to my dorm, I make some food and we watch a movie? Like an action flick or something."

Moka smirked, "I think I'd like that." the two began walking to Ben's dorm, "Where did that music come from anyway?"

"What music?" Ben asked, "Are you talking about the guitar thing?" Moka nodded, "Oh, you only hear it if you believe." Moka felt she now had more questions than before, but felt best not to bother asking. After all, it doesn't really matter if she gets to spend time with him.

* * *

**Several Days Later...**

Ben was on his way to class when he was suddenly stopped by Ruby in the hall, "Ben!" she called out as she rushed over to the human, "Sorry to stop you, but, you have a phone call." Ben cocked an eyebrow in confusion. _Who the hell is calling me? It can't be Kaine...did Laura get the number for the school or something?_

Ben walked over to the telephones that somehow connected to the human world. He still really couldn't figure that part out, magic most likely. As Ben approached the phones one of them began to ring. For some reason Ben had a strange feeling about this, like he was about to get some news he wouldn't want to hear. _Please let May be okay. Please let May be okay._ he thought. "_Hello?_" Ben answered in English.

_"Hello, Ben. It's been a while...'son'.__" _Ben's heart nearly sank when he heard the voice. A voice he thought he wouldn't hear for the rest of his life. It was Miles Warren, the Jackal, also known as the man who cloned Spider-Man. The man who created Ben and Kaine. _"You're probably surprised to be hearing my voice, aren't you__?"_

"_What do you want?_" Ben asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

_"Oh c'mon? Is that the way you address your father?"_ the villain chuckled.

Ben groaned in annoyance, "_Fuck you. You aren't my father. Now quit playing around. What do you want?_"

Miles chuckled, _"Well, it isn't of my own volition. Your friend, Dr. Reed Richards, approached me the other day. Said he had a sample of some of your lung tissue. I've gotta say, I wasn't sure what he meant at first.__" _Miles clicked his tongue, _"I didn't want to help him, but I was intrigued. Especially since it was from my greatest success.__" _he chuckled, _"Though it seems I was wrong about that too. Richards figured that since I created you I could see what was wrong with you. I thought it was the standard thing, some accelerated aging and whatnot. But I'm afraid it's much worse than that. Benjamin, I'm afraid that you aren't my perfect creation. You're dying. Quite rapidly I might a__dd." _Ben nearly fell over due to the news. _"Yes, it seems that you are going through a mutated and extreme strand of Cell Deterioration. Your body is breaking down from the inside out. Before you know it your organs will be non-existent."_

Ben took a moment to breath before he began asking questions, "_How long?_"

_"Two, maybe four months tops.__" _Ben couldn't believe what he heard. His life was finally starting to get so much better and now...this? Was he not allowed to be happy? _"Upon hearing my estimates Dr. Richards said he'd get started on a cure right away, but I told them it'd be fruitless. Even if they were to make a perfect cure, you'd still only have a 37% chance of surviving__." _Miles chuckled, _"I'd say 'I'm sorry' but, you're kinda the reason why I'm locked up for life anyways. So, I suppose I'll follow your example. Fuck you.__"_ Miles laughed, _"The only reason I told you was to have the satisfaction of letting you know you are cursed. That you are my creation. And that I cannot wait for you to be waiting for me at the gates of hell."_ Miles hung up and Ben was left at the phone booth alone.

He gripped the phone in his hand, nearly crushing it by the force of his grip. A tear dripped off Ben's chin and landed on the ground bellow him, "_It's not fair..._" he whispered. He then began yelling at the top of his lungs as he repeatedly slammed the phone back into its place. Ben then began punching the phone box before ripping off the wall in anger and slamming it into the ground, "AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" Ben began taking a few deep breaths, calming down slightly. He looked up from where he threw the phone box to see Kokoa standing with a surprised expression on her face. "How much did you hear?"

"Um..." Kokoa looked around, "You know just the important stuff." she said lightly.

Ben walked up to Kokoa and gripped her shoulders causing her to yelp slightly, "Kokoa...you CANNOT tell anybody." Ben's grip tightened and Kokoa could see his eyes puffed red and the tears stream down his face, "P-Please. I can't...I can't let them keep worrying about me!" He cried as he dug his face into Kokoa's shoulder, "They're always worrying about me. If they hear this they'll think I'm just a liability. Please, I can't have that happen. I can still help. I can still fight! I'm...I'm not dead yet, dammit!"

"Yeah." Kokoa replied, "This'll be a secret between you and me...for now. But you'll have to tell them eventually." Ben looked into Kokoa's eyes and the two nodded before clasping their hands together.

It seems now Ben is on a time limit.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Hey, remember to Favorite, Follow and Review.**

**Real Quick Review: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1-2. Fantastic. The game feels great, the physics are great. It probably is one of the best games to come out this year, unironically.**


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